SOMETHING  ABOUT  SUGAR 


SOMETHING  ABOUT  SUGAR 

ITS  HISTORY 

GROWTH,  MANUFACTURE  AND 
DISTRIBUTION 

BY 

GEORGE  M.  ROLPH 


Sugar 

is  nothing  more  nor  less 

than  concentrated 

sunshine 


SAN  FRANCISCO 

JOHN  J.  NEWBEGIN 

PUBLISHER 

1917 


COPYRIGHT,  Iply,  BY  GEORGE  M.  ROLPH 


PRINTED  BY  TAYLOR  &  TAYLOR,  SAN  FRANCISCO 


DEDICATION: 
TOR.P.RITHET 


347828 


FOREWORD 

'The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  tell  in  simple  language 
"Something  About  Sugar!'  It  gives  a  brief  history 
of  the  commodity  and  its  production  in  different  parts 
of  the  world,  and  seeks  to  show,  for  the  information, 
especially,  of  the  layman  and  the  pupil  in  school,  the 
various  steps  by  which  sugar  from  cane  and  beets  is 

ared  for  the  consumer. 

J  G.M.R. 


CONTENTS 

PART  i 

Growth,  Manufacture  and 
Distribution 

WHAT  SUGAR  Is ^     PAGE  3 

THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE 6 

SOIL  ANALYSIS  ...........  8 

ENTOMOLOGY     ...........  8 

PATHOLOGY       ...........  9 

THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR 22 

EXTRACTION      ...........  22 

PURIFICATION     ...........  25 

EVAPORATION     ...........  28 

CONCENTRATION  AND  CRYSTALLIZATION              .          .          .          .          .          .  3 1 

PREPARATION  OF  CRYSTALS  FOR  THE  MARKET              .          .          .          .          .  33 

TRANSPORTATION  AND  DELIVERY  OF  RAW  SUGAR         .        .        .  37 

POLARIZATION    ...........  39 

REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR 44 

WASHING            ...........  £O 

MELTING            ...........  £4 

DEFECATION       ...........  54 

BONE-CHAR  FILTRATION         .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  59 

CRYSTALLIZATION        ..........  6j 

PARTIAL  DRYING 69 

FINAL  DRYING  OF  CRYSTALS           .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  69 

SCREENING          ...........  71 

PACKING             ...........  73 

CUBE  SUGAR      ...........  77 

POWDERED  AND  BAR  SUGAR             ........  79 


[XII] 

REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  (Continued) 

YELLOW  SUGARS          ...... 

MECHANICAL  DEPARTMENT    ..... 

LABORATORY   ....... 

COST  OF  REFINING       ...... 

SHIPPING  DEPARTMENT 

MARKETING 

BEET  SUGAR         .        . 

THE  SUGAR  BEET         ...... 

SELECTION  OF  THE  SOIL         ..... 

PLANTING  ....... 

THINNING  ....... 

CULTIVATION     ....... 

HARVESTING  AND  TOPPING 

MANUFACTURE  OF  BEET  SUGAR      .... 

TRANSPORTATION  AND  CLEANING    .... 

EXTRACTION  OF  JUICE,  SLICING  AND  DIFFUSION 
PURIFICATION  OF  JUICE,  CARBONATION  AND  FILTRATION 
CONCENTRATION  OF  JUICE     ..... 

SULFITATION      ....... 

FORMATION  OF  GRAIN  ..... 

STEFFEN  PROCESS 

PART  n 
History  of  the  Industry 

EARLY  HISTORY 

BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII 

LOUISIANA 

PORTO  Rico 


C  xni  ] 

THE  PHILIPPINES       .........     PAGE   189 

CUBA       ...........       v       .  201 

JAMAICA      ............  213 

BARBADOS    ........  /  220 

TRINIDAD    ............  224 

SANTO  DOMINGO         ..........  227 

GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE        .......  233 

GUADELOUPE      ...........  233 

MARTINIQUE      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  234 

GAUDELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE       ........  236 

MEXICO        ............  243 

PERU    .............  249 

BRAZIL        ............  256 

BRITISH  GUIANA        ..........  264 

ARGENTINA          ...........  271 

FORMOSA     ............  276 

JAVA    .............  283 

AUSTRALIA  ...........        .  302 

MAURITIUS         ...........  *  309 

NATAL 

EGYP 

SPAIN 


EGYPT         ............      320 


.............      324 

INDIA  .  .  .     330 

CONCLUSION        .        .        .........      338 


[XV] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PART  i 

Growth,  Manufacture  and 
Distribution 

REFINED  SUGAR,  SHOWING  FORM  OF  CRYSTALS     ......     Frontispiece 

SUGAR  CANE,  SHOWING  EYES  OR  BUDS         ......          To  face  page  4 

ROOTS  OF  SUGAR  CANE          ..........  6 

JUNGLE-LIKE  VEGETATION  OF  CANE  FIELD           .......  7 

LEAF-HOPPER              ...........  10 

SUGAR  CANE      ............  1 1 

EXPERIMENT  STATION            .......           .           ..  12 

PLANTATION  SCENE  IN  HAWAII.  LIGHT-COLORED  FOLIAGE  is  SUGAR  CANE   .           .           .  13 

STEAM  PLOUGH            ...........  14 

PLANTING  CANE           ...........  15 

IRRIGATION  DITCH,  SHOWING  TUNNEL        ........  16 

IRRIGATION  DITCH      ...........17 

YOUNG  SUGAR  CANE              ..........  18 

RIPE  SUGAR  CANE,  SHOWING  TASSELS         .           .          .           .           .           .           .           .  19 

CUTTING  CANE            ...........  20 

LOADING  CANE             ...........  21 

TRAIN-LOAD  OF  CANE  READY  FOR  THE  MILL       .          .          .           .          .          .          .  22 

A  MODERN  MILL        ...........  23 

CANE  CARRIER  AND  MECHANICAL  UNLOADER      .......  24 

ANOTHER  TYPE  OF  CANE  UNLOADER        .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  25 

TWELVE-ROLLER  MILL           ..........  26 

MODERN  CRUSHING  PLANT;  TWO  FIFTEEN-ROLLER  MILLS  AND  CRUSHERS,  CAPACITY  105 

TONS  PER  HOUR      ...........  27 

DELIVERING  BAGASSE  TO  FIRE-ROOM         .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  28 

GENERAL  INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  MODERN  RAW-SUGAR  MILL     .                     ...  29 

FILTER  PRESSES            ...........  30 

SET  OF  QUADRUPLE  EVAPORATORS    .....  ...31 

VACUUM  PANS    ............  32 

CENTRIFUGAL  MACHINES        ...                      ......  33 


[xvi] 

FILLING,  WEIGHING  AND  SEWING  SACKS     ......        To  face  page  34 

TRAIN-LOAD  OF  RAW  SUGAR  LEAVING  MILL         .  .  .  .  .  .  .  35 

STEAMER  LOADING  SUGAR  ALONGSIDE  OF  DOCK  .          .          .          .          .  .  38 

LOADING  SUGAR  AT  AN  OUTPORT  IN  HAWAII  .  .  .  .  .  .  39 

POLARISCOPE  (in  tody  of  text)         ........  Page  40 

A  MODERN  REFINERY,  SHOWING  WATER  AND  RAIL  TRANSPORTATION  FACILITIES    To  face  page  46 

PLAN  ELEVATION  OF  A  MODERN  REFINERY          .......  47 

STEAMER  DISCHARGING  RAW  SUGAR  AT  REFINERY  DOCK        .....  48 

SUGAR  STORED  IN  WAREHOUSE — 2 5,000  TONS  SHOWN  IN  THIS  PICTURE     ...  49 

CUT-IN  STATION,  SHOWING  SUGAR  FIRST  ENTERING  THE  REFINING  PROCESS  .  .  5° 

CENTRIFUGAL  MACHINE,  MOTOR  DRIVEN    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  51 

BAG  FILTERS,  SHOWING  BAGS  IN  PLACE        .          .          .          .          .  .          .          .  56 

FILTER  PRESSES  ...........  57 

MAKING  NEW  BAGS  AND  LINING  THE  WASHED  BAGS     .  .  .  .  .  .  58 

PRINTING  THE  EMPTY  RAW-SUGAR  BAGS  .          .          .          .          .          .          .  59 

CHAR  FILTERS    ............  60 

CHAR  FILTERS,  SHOWING  OUTLET  PIPES      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  6 1 

TOP  OF  CHAR  FILTERS,  SHOWING  PIPE  CONNECTIONS     .  .          .          .          .          .  62 

EXTERIOR  VIEW  OF  CHAR  DRIER     .........  63 

INTERIOR  ARRANGEMENT  OF  CHAR  DRIER  .......  64 

EXTERIOR  VIEW  OF  CHAR  KILNS,  SHOWING  OIL-BURNING  APPARATUS  .          .          .  65 

A  REFINERY  VACUUM  PAN  AND  PUMP       ........  66 

ARRANGEMENT  OF  STEAM  COILS  IN  A  VACUUM  PAN      .          .          .          .          .          .  67 

REFINERY  CENTRIFUGAL  MACHINES  .          .          .          .          .          .          .    '  68 

EXTERIOR  VIEW  OF  SWEATER  .........  69 

FRONT  VIEW  OF  SWEATER,  SHOWING  STEAM  COILS  FOR  HEATING  THE  AIR    ...  70 

INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  SWEATER  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  .  71 

SEPARATOR,  CLOSED,  READY  FOR  OPERATION         .          .          .          .          .          .          .  72 

SEPARATORS,  ONE  OF  WHICH  is  OPEN,  SHOWING  THREE  SCREENS  FOR  SEPARATING  THE 

SUGAR  GRAINS  ...........  7  3 

FILLING,  WEIGHING  AND  SEWING  IOO-POUND  SACKS      ......  74 

FILLING,  WEIGHING  AND  SEWING  2  5 -POUND  SACKS        .  .  .  .  .  .  75 

FILLING  BARRELS          ...........  76 

METHOD  OF  HANDLING  BARRELS     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  77 

CUBE  SUGAR  MACHINE  ..........  78 

CARTON  MACHINE        ...........  79 

FILLING,  WEIGHING  AND  SEWING  2-POUND,  5-pouND  AND  I  O-POUND  BAGS  .          .  80 

LABORATORY      ............  86 

OIL-BURNING  BOILER  PLANT  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  87 


[xvn] 

INLAND- WATERWAY  STEAMER  LOADING  SUGAR  AT  REFINERY  DOCK  .        To  face  page  92 

CAR-FLOAT  ARRIVING  AT  REFINERY  DOCK         .          .          .          .          .          .  "       .          93 

SUGAR  BEET        ..........          .          .         100 

This  and  seventeen  illustrations  immediately  following  are  reproduced  by  permission 
of  Truman  G.  Palmer,  Esq., Secretary  of  the  United  States  Beet  Sugar  Industry, 
Washington,  D.  C. 
ANOTHER  TYPE  OF  SUGAR  BEET      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .         101 

PLOUGHING  WITH  CATERPILLAR  ENGINE     .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .102 

PLANTING  BEET  SEED   .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .103 

THINNING  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .104 

CULTIVATING      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .105 

FIELD  OF  RIPE  BEETS  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .106 

TOPPING  BEETS  .  .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .107 

HAULING  BEETS.          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .108 

DELIVERING  BEETS  TO  THE  FACTORY  BY  WAGON  .          .          .          .          .          .109 

DELIVERING  BEETS  TO  THE  FACTORY  BY  TRAIN  .          .          .          .          .          .no 

GENERAL  INTERIOR  VIEW  OF  BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY,  SHOWING  FILTER  PRESSES  IN  FORE- 
GROUND ;    PANS  AND  EVAPORATORS  IN  REAR        .  .  .  .  .  .  .Ill 

DIFFUSION  BATTERY,  SHOWING  DIFFUSION  CELLS  IN  CIRCULAR  ARRANGEMENT        .          .         112 
DIFFUSION  BATTERY,  SHOWING  DIFFUSION  CELLS  IN  STRAIGHT  LINES  .          .          .          .         113 

WEIGHING,  FILLING  AND  SEWING  BAGS  IN  A  BEET  FACTORY  .          .          .          .          .114 

CATTLE  FEEDING  ON  BEET  PULP      .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .115 

THE  FIRST  SUCCESSFUL  BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY  IN  AMERICA — ALVARADO,  CALIFORNIA  .        1 16 


PART  n 
History  of  the  Industry 

A  MODERN  BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY.          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  .117 

CHRISTOPHER  COLUMBUS        .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  .124 

OLIVIER  DE  SERRES       .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  .128 

ANDREAS  MARGGRAF    .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .129 

FRANZ  CARL  ACHARD  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .130 

FIRST  BEET-SUGAR  FACTORY  IN  THE  WORLD — BUILT  AT  CUNERN,  SILESIA,  1802  .        131 

NAPOLEON  I.          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .          .  .132 

BUILDING  IN  SALT  LAKE  CITY,  UTAH,  IN  WHICH  THE  FIRST  BEET-SUGAR  MACHINERY 

BROUGHT  TO  THE  WEST  WAS  INSTALLED          .          .          .          .          .          .  .         1 50 


[xvm] 

E.  H.  DYER,  THE  FATHER  OF  BEET  SUGAR  IN  AMERICA         .          .          .     To  face  page  I  5 1 
HAULING  CANE  IN  THE  FIELDS,  LOUISIANA          .          .          .          .          .          .          .178 

HAULING  CANE  IN  THE  FIELDS,  LOUISIANA          .          .          .          .          .          .          .179 

SUGAR  PLANTATION  SCENE  IN  PORTO  Rico          .          .          .          .          .          .          .182 

This  and  the  three  illustrations  immediately  following  are  after  photographs  by 

A.  Moscioniy  Esq. 
SUGAR-SHIPPING  PORT,  PORTO  Rico          ........ 

PLOUGHING  CANE  FIELD  WITH  STEAM  PLOUGH,  PORTO  Rico  .... 

UNLOADING  SUGAR  CANE  AT  A  MILL,  PORTO  Rico     ...... 

PLOUGHING  FIELD  BEFORE  PLANTING  CANE,  PHILIPPINES       ..... 

PLOUGHING  AT  LA  CARLOTA,  OCCIDENTAL  NEGROS,  PHILIPPINES     .... 

HAULING  CANE,  PHILIPPINES  ......... 

CARABAO  MILL,  PHILIPPINES 

OLD-STYLE  SUGAR  MILL,  PHILIPPINES,  SHOWING  POOR  CRUSHING     .... 

TINGUIAN  CANE  CRUSHER,  LINGAYEN,  PHILIPPINES       ...... 

OLD  WATER-DRIVEN  MILL,  ISLAND  OF  NEGROS,  PHILIPPINES  .... 

MILL  DRIVEN  BY  WATER  POWER,  OCCIDENTAL  NEGROS,  PHILIPPINES 

NATIVE  SUGAR  FACTORY,  PAMPANGA  PROVINCE,  PHILIPPINES  .... 

INTERIOR  OF  CAMARIN,  PHILIPPINES          ........ 

LUZON  SUGAR  REFINERY,  MALABON,  RIZAL,  PHILIPPINES       ..... 

LOADING  SUGAR  ON  LORCHAS,  PHILIPPINES         ....... 

CENTRAL  FACTORY,  GENERAL  VIEW,  CUBA         ....... 

This  and  the  five  illustrations  immediately  following  are  after  photographs  by  the 

American  Photo  Co.,Habana. 
CUBAN  CENTRAL,  GENERAL  VIEW    ......... 

CANE  FIELD,  CUBA       ........... 

LOADING  CANE  ON  OX-CARTS,  CUBA        .          .          .          .          .    • 

TRAIN-LOAD  OF  SUGAR  CANE,  CUBA         .          .          .          . 

SELF-DUMPING  CANE  CAR,  CUBA   ......... 

MORELANDS  SUGAR    MlLL,VERE,  JAMAICA.     PhotO  by  H.  H.   CoUSittS 

THE  FLEET,  MORELANDS,  VERE,  JAMAICA.     Photo  by  H.  H.  Cousins 

LEVELING  A  CANE  FIELD,  PERU       ......... 

LEVELING  GROUND  BY  STEAM,  PERU         ........ 

PLANTING  CANE,  PERU 

PORTABLE  BRANCH  LINE  OF  FIELD  RAILWAY  AND  CANE  CUTTERS,  PERU   . 

HAULING  CANE-LADEN  CARS  WITH  OX-TEAM,  PERU  ..... 

TRAIN-LOAD  OF  CANE  EN  ROUTE  TO  THE  FACTORY,  PERU 

SUGAR  PLANTATION  BETWEEN  Rio  DE  JANEIRO  AND  SAO  PALO,  BRAZIL 


[xix] 

TRAIN-LOAD  OF  CANE  EN  ROUTE  TO  THE  INGENIO  LA  MENDIETA,  ARGENTINA   To  face  page  270 
UNLOADING  A  CAR  OF  CANE,  TUCUMAN,  ARGENTINA  .  .  .  .  .  .271 

BATTERY  OF  BOILERS,  INGENIO,  LA  TRINIDAD,  TUCUMAN,  ARGENTINA      .          .          .         272 
HOME  OF  SUPERINTENDENT  OF  A  SUGAR  PLANTATION,  TUCUMAN,  ARGENTINA    .          .        273 
INGENIO  NUEVA  BAVIERA,  TUCUMAN,  ARGENTINA        .          .          .          .          .          .274 

INGENIO  NUEVA  BAVIERA,  TUCUMAN,  ARGENTINA        .  .  .  .  .  .275 

KOHEKIRIN  MILL,  FORMOSA  ..........         280 

SUGAR  CANE  AFFECTED  BY  THE  SEREH,  JAVA       .......        296 

SEEDLING  CANES,  JAVA  ..........         297 

CUTTING  CANE,  MAROOCHY  RIVER,  SOUTH  QUEENSLAND      .          .          .          .          .302 

CARTING  CANE  TO  MILL,  INGHAM  DISTRICT?  NORTH  QUEENSLAND  .          .          .         303 

Isis  CENTRAL  MILL,  CHILDERS,  SOUTH  QUEENSLAND  .          .          .  .          .        304 

CANE    UNLOADER,  MULGRAVE    CENTRAL    SUGAR    MILL,  CAIRNS  DISTRICT,  NORTH 

QUEENSLAND  ...........        305 

SUGAR  MILL,  NAHAN  FACTORY,  INDIA      .  .  .  .  .  .  .  -330 

CENTRIFUGAL  WORKED  BY  HAND,  INDIA  .          .          .          .  .          .  331 

WOODEN  MILL  FROM  GORAKHPUR,  INDIA  (in  body  of  text)  .          .          .         Page  332 

BOILING  BY  OLD  METHOD,  INDIA    .......    To  face  Page  332 

FURNACE  AND  PANS  FOR  MAKING  RAB,  INDIA     .          .          .          .  .  .  -333 

STONE  MLLL,  AGRA,  INDIA  (in  body  of  text)      ......         Page  333 

SMALL  LOCOMOTIVE  USED  TO  DRAW  CANE-CARS,  2-FooT  GAUGE,  INDIA       To  face  page  334 
LOADING  CANE  CARRIER,  MARHOURAH  FACTORY,  INDIA        .          .          .          .          -335 

WATER-DRIVEN  CENTRIFUGALS,  MARHOURAH  FACTORY,  INDIA        ....        336 

CHAMPARAN  SUGAR  COMPANY,  LTD., BARRAH  CHAKIA,  CHAMPARAN,  INDIA        .  .         337 


PART  i 

Growth,  Manufacture  and 
Distribution 


WHAT  SUGAR  IS 

AONG  the  many  varieties  of  sugar  the  most  important 
are  the  sucroses  and  the  glucoses.  They  form  a  natural 
group  of  substances,  chiefly  of  vegetable  origin.  Chemi- 
cally considered,  all  sugars  are  carbohydrates,  that  is  to  say, 
bodies  composed  of  three  elements :  carbon,  hydrogen  and  oxy- 
gen. Sucrose  contains  twelve  atoms  of  carbon,  twenty-two 
atoms  of  hydrogen  and  eleven  atoms  of  oxygen. 

Apart  from  sucrose,  which  is  usually  cane  and  beet  sugar,  the 
variety  most  generally  met  with  is  dextrose — one  of  the  glu- 
coses. It  possesses  less  sweetness  than  sucrose  and  differs  from 
the  latter  in  chemical  composition.  As  an  example:  dextrose  is 
found  in  the  raisin  in  small  grains.  It  also  occurs  in  other  fruits 
and  is  the  result  of  the  inversion  of  sucrose. 

Glucose  enters  largely  into  the  manufacture  of  candy,  being 
particularly  necessary  in  the  preparation  of  soft  filling  for 
creams,  as  a  certain  amount  of  it  added  to  cane-sugar  syrup  pre- 
vents crystallization. 

Sucrose  is  derived  from  sugar  cane,  maple  sap,  sorghum  and 
the  sugar  beet.  It  is  a  solid,  crystallizing  in  the  form  of  mono- 
clinic  prisms,  generally  with  hemihedral  faces,  which  are  color- 
less, transparent,  have  a  sweet  taste,  a  specific  gravity  of  1.6 
and  a  melting  point  of  about  320  degrees  Fahrenheit.  It  is  solu- 
ble in  about  one-half  its  weight  in  cold  water,  and  in  boiling 
water  in  almost  all  proportions.  It  is  practically  insoluble  in 
alcohol,  turpentine,  ether,  chloroform  and  similar  fluids. 

The  crop  of  1914-15  showed  a  world's  production  of  18,- 
409,016  long  tons  of  sugar,  and  in  the  chapters  relating  to  the 
history  of  sugar  will  be  found  a  statement  setting  forth  the 


4  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

amount  produced  by  each  country.  The  total  was  derived  about 
one-half  from  cane  and  one-half  from  beets,  produced  as  fol- 
lows: 

CANE  BEET 

Total  in  America  5>OI7>375        660,236 

"       "  Asia  4,268,618 

"       "  Australia  and  Polynesia    348,408 
"       "  Africa  523,788 

"       "  Europe  7,3;61     7,583,215 


10,165,565      8,243,451 

1  Spain. 

Sugar  cane,  described  in  botany  as  Saccharum  officinarum,  is 
a  giant-stemmed  perennial  grass  that  grows  from  eight  to 
twenty-four  feet  long.  When  ripe  it  produces  at  the  top  of  its 
stalk  a  large  feathery  plume  of  flowers  of  a  gray  inflorescence 
called  the  "tassel,"  which  is  from  two  to  four  feet  in  length. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  cane,  all  of  which  are  regarded  as 
varieties  of  one  species,  although  some  botanists  have  raised  a 
few  to  the  rank  of  distinct  species.  The  cultivated  types  are  dis- 
tinguished by  the  color  of  the  internodes,  yellow,  red,  purple  or 
striped,  and  by  other  general  characteristics. 

The  stem  of  the  cane  is  solid,  with  joints  at  intervals  of  three 
to  six  inches.  In  diameter  it  ranges  from  one  to  two  and  a  half 
inches,  and  is  unbranched,  bearing  in  its  upper  part  numerous 
long,  narrow  grass-like  leaves,  arranged  in  two  rows.  The 
leaves  spring  from  large  sheaths  around  the  joints,  and  have  a 
more  or  less  spreading  blade  from  three  to  five  feet  in  length 
and  two  inches  or  more  in  width.  The  pith,  of  open  cellular 
structure,  contains  the  sugary  juice.  The  tops,  which  contain 
but  little  sugar,  are  not  crushed,  but  are  used  for  seed,  as  the 
plant  germinates  from  the  eyes,  or  buds,  which  grow  on  the 


SUGAR  CANE — SHOWING  EYES  OR  BUDS 


WHAT  SUGAR  IS  5 

stem  around  the  joints.  Practically  no  cultivated  cane  is  propa- 
gated from  its  seed.  The  roots  that  remain  in  the  ground  after 
the  cane  is  harvested  throw  up  fresh  canes  or  ratoons  for  many 
seasons,  after  which  replanting  is  necessary.  Hawaiian  growers 
do  not  count  on  ratoons  for  more  than  a  few  crops,  whereas  in 
Cuba  this  process  can  be  repeated  for  many  years. 

As  a  rule,  sugar  cane  consists  of  about  eighty-eight  per  cent 
of  juice  and  twelve  per  cent  of  fiber,  the  juice  content  varying 
from  time  to  time,  both  as  regards  quality  and  amount.  The 
quantity  of  the  juice  pressed  from  the  cane  determines  the  effi- 
ciency of  the  extraction,  while  quality  is  the  main  factor  when 
the  result  of  subsequent  manufacture  is  under  analysis. 

It  is  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  fair  average  of  the  composition  of 
the  juice  of  the  cane,  as  it  varies  in  different  countries,  on  differ- 
ent plantations  in  the  same  country,  and  at  different  periods  in 
any  one  year.  The  following  is  an  approximation : 

Water  80.8    per  cent 

Sugar  16.4     "       " 
Invert  sugar  1.98  "       " 

Organic  non-sugar  .54  "       " 

Ash  (mineral  matter)  .28  " 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE 

SUGAR  CANE  grows  almost  exclusively  in  the  tropical 
belt,  extending  from  twenty-two  degrees  north  to  twenty- 
two  degrees  south  latitude,  where  the  three  essentials 
for  its  successful  culture,  viz.,  fertile  soil,  hot  sunshine  and 
plenty  of  moisture,  are  -present.  It  flourishes  in  the  islands  of 
the  Pacific  ocean,  particularly  in  the  Hawaiian  group,  in  Cuba, 
Mexico,  Central  America,  the  islands  of  the  East  and  West 
Indies,  Australia,  China,  India,  along  the  shores  of  the  China 
sea  and  the  Indian  ocean,  and  in  certain  parts  of  Africa  and 
South  America.  In  the  low  latitudes  of  the  temperate  zone  it  is 
grown  with  only  fair  success. 

Owing  to  peculiar  climatic  conditions,  sugar  cane  has  been 
raised  in  southern  Spain  for  generations,  notwithstanding  the 
fact  that  the  provinces  in  which  the  sugar  cane  is  grown  lie, 
roughly  speaking,  between  thirty-six  degrees  and  thirty-eight 
degrees  north  latitude.  The  Gulf  Stream  is  no  doubt  largely  re- 
sponsible for  this  phenomenon.  The  quantity  of  sugar  produced 
in  Spain,  however,  is  small,  the  crop  of  1914-15  amounting  to 
less  than  8000  tons. 

Sugar  cane  thrives  best  in  a  moist,  warm  climate,  with  mod- 
erate intervals  of  dry,  hot  weather,  and  plenty, of  water  for 
irrigation.  It  requires  marly  soil,  free  from  saline  ingredients. 
As  a  rule,  it  is  raised  on  the  lowlands,  where  the  temperature 
is  highest  and  where  it  is  easy  to  bring  water  for  irrigation.  In 
Hawaii  it  takes  eighteen  months  to  ripen,  and  "tasseling"  oc- 
curs about  thirty  days  before  it  is  ready  to  be  cut.  In  Louisiana 
and  Texas,  because  of  the  short  seasons,  cane  is  harvested  in 
from  nine  to  ten  months  from  the  time  of  sprouting,  and,  con- 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  7 

sequently,  before  it  has  attained  maturity.  In  Cuba  it  is  cut  in 
twelve  months,  whether.it  is  ripe  or  not. 

As  the  scientific  culture  and  manufacture  of  sugar  is  prob- 
ably further  advanced  in  the  Hawaiian  islands  than  in  any 
other  part  of  the  world,  a  description  of  the  industry  as  carried 
on  there  will  serve  to  illustrate  the  intensive  cultivation  and 
scientific  methods  of  the  present  day. 

The  Hawaiian  islands  are  situated  in  the  Pacific  ocean,  in 
latitude  nineteen  degrees  to  twenty-two  degrees  north  and  in 
longitude  one  hundred  and  fifty-four  degrees  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty-one  degrees  west,  and  are  free  from  the  destructive 
hurricanes  of  the  East  and  West  Indies.  They  are  of  volcanic 
formation  and,  as  a  rule,  their  centers  are  mountainous,  in 
some  instances  reaching  an  elevation  of  nearly  fourteen  thou- 
sand feet.  During  the  ages,  torrential  rains  carried  volcanic 
ash  from  the  mountains  toward  the  sea,  near  which  it  was  de- 
posited, thus  forming  alluvial  areas  of  vast  richness  around 
the  circumference  of  the  islands.  Parts  of  some  of  the  islands 
are  fringed  with  coral  reefs,  barriers  that  retain  the  washings 
from  the  mountains.  In  these  low-lying  areas  the  soil  is  ex- 
traordinarily fertile,  and  it  is  on  such  ground  that  the  most 
generous  crops  are  raised. 

The  soft,  warm  trade  winds  that  blow  from  the  northeast  be- 
come laden  with  moisture  as  they  sweep  over  the  ocean;  when 
they  strike  the  cold  mountain  peaks  the  moisture  condenses  im- 
mediately into  copious  rains.  The  precipitation  in  some  places 
reaches  the  astounding  total  of  three  hundred  inches  per  an- 
num. The  rain  water  is  conserved  and,  when  needed,  is  carried 
to  the  various  plantations  by  immense  irrigation  ditches. 

In  this  tropical  region  there  is  an  abundance  of  sunshine,  ac- 
companied by  humid  heat,  exactly  the  conditions  needed.  It 
required  only  man's  ingenuity  to  utilize  what  nature  so  lavishly 
provided. 


8  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

The  commercial  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  in  these  islands 
began  about  1850,  when  a  few  hundred  tons  of  raw  sugar  were 
produced,  but  the  methods  of  husbandry  and  manufacture  were 
crude.  Time  and  experience  worked  great  changes,  until  in 
1914-15  the  crop  of  raw  sugar  totaled  646,448  tons  of  2000 
pounds  each. 

For  many  years  past  the  sugar  planters  have  maintained  in 
Honolulu  an  experimental  station  that  is  the  marvel  of  the  agri- 
cultural world.  The  bulletins  issued  by  it  are  recognized  as 
authoritative,  and  are  read  with  interest  in  every  sugar- 
producing  country. 

The  most  important  features  of  the  work  carriecl  on  at  this 
station  are:  ,  C~TT  AXTAT,rcTc 

1.  SOIL  ANALYSIS 

Skilled  chemists  examine  the  soils  of  the  various  plantations 
and,  when  occasion  demands,  advise  the  planter  what  necessary 
element  is  lacking,  as  well  as  how  to  obtain  and  apply  it.  A  few 
years  ago  this  branch  of  the  work  was  considered  highly  import- 
ant. Recently,  however,  the  agriculturists  have  been  depending 
more  upon  well-defined  systems  of  experimentation.  Each  plan- 
tation has  on  its  own  lands  plots  of  ground  on  which  .different 
methods  of  culture  are  tried  and  on  which  various  kinds  of  fer- 
tilizer are  used.  Experiments  are  also  made  to  determine  the 
exact  amount  of  water  needed  for  irrigation.  Particular  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  seed  cane,  and  a  number  of  types  of  it  are  planted 
in  order  to  obtain  seed  that  will  produce  stalks  that  grow  rapid- 
ly, yield  a  large  tonnage  per  acre,  contain  a  maximum  amount 
of  sugar,  and  have  a  high  resistant  power  against  disease  and 
insect  pests.  The  success  attending  this  practical  experimental 
work  is  such  that  soil  analysis  is  being  relegated  to  second 

2.  ENTOMOLOGY 

A  staff  of  trained  experts  assiduously  study  the  insect  life  and 
eagerly  watch  for  harmful,  troublesome  pests,  which  in  the  past 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  9 

have  wrought  great  damage.  It  is  their  duty  to  find  the  means 
of  eliminating  these  pests,  and  this  they  usually  accomplish 
through  the  skillful  use  of  insect  parasites. 

3.  PATHOLOGY 

The  pathologists  attached  to  the  station  supplement  the  sci- 
entific labors  of  the  chemists  and  the  entomologists  by  prescrib- 
ing for  any  disease  that  may  attack  the  cane.  Plant  life  is  sub- 
ject to  as  many  ills  as  the  human  family,  and  the  work  of  these 
specialists  in  restoring  health  to  ailing  cane  is  of  the  highest 
importance. 

To  fully  illustrate  the  character  and  scope  of  their  work,  a 
particular  instance  for  each  department  may  be  cited : 

A  certain  planter  found  that  the  amount  of  sugar  obtained 
from  his  cane  was  decreasing  yearly,  though  he  could  see  no 
good  reason  for  it.  The  land  looked  right;  he  ploughed  deeply, 
harrowed  well,  kept  the  weeds  down,  gave  the  cane  plenty  of 
water,  could  find  no  reason  to  complain  of  climatic  conditions, 
but  still  did  not  get  satisfactory  results.  Finally  the  head  of  the 
experimental  station  was  consulted  and  an  agricultural  chemist 
was  sent  to  the  plantation.  This  chemist,  after  careful  investi- 
gation, took  samples  of  the  soil  from  various  parts  of  the  land; 
these  were  analyzed  and  the  source  of  the  trouble  was  found  to 
be  the  lack  of  potash.  Just  here  it  may  be  explained  that  when 
the  same  crop  is  taken  from  the  land  many  years  in  succession, 
without  adequate  fertilization,  some  of  the  essential  properties 
of  the  soil  become  exhausted.  Speaking  generally,  these  are 
lime,  soda,  potash,  phosphates  and  nitrogen.  In  this  particular 
instance,  as  has  been  said,  the  land  had  been  gradually  drained 
of  its  potash.  The  experimental  station  recommended  the  plant- 
er to  scatter  a  certain  fertilizer  over  his  fields.  This  advice  was 
followed  and  the  next  crop  showed  remarkable  improvement,  the 
yield  of  cane  and  sugar  per  acre  being  greater  than  ever  before. 


10  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

At  one  time  the  sugar  industry  of  the  Hawaiian  islands  was 
threatened  with  annihilation  by  a  little  insect  called  the  "leaf- 
hopper."  The  harm  done  by  this  pest  was  so  enormous  that  one 
plantation  having  an  average  yearly  crop  of  19,000  tons  was  so 
severely  affected  that  the  yield  dropped  from  19,000  to  12,000, 
and  then  to  3000  tons  in  three  successive  crops.  All  the  planta- 
tions on  the  islands  suffered  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent,  and 
the  entire  sugar  industry  of  Hawaii  was  jeopardized. 

The  hoppers  punctured  the  stalks  and  leaves  of  the  young 
cane,  and  in  the  holes  thus  formed  laid  their  eggs  by  thousands. 
When  the  young  hoppers  hatched  out,  they  fed  on  the  juices  in 
the  stalk  and  in  the  leaves,  thus  destroying  the  leaves  and  de- 
priving the  cane  of  its  protection  and  principal  means  of  absorb- 
ing nourishment  from  the  air. 

As  soon  as  the  leaf-hopper  by  its  ravages  made  itself  known 
in  the  islands,  the  entomologists  were  consulted,  and  they 
were  confronted  with  the  task  of  studying  the  life  and  habits  of 
the  hopper  for  the  purpose  of  finding,  if  possible,  some  other 
insects  that  would  attack  and  exterminate  it.  It  is  well  known  to 
entomologists  that  every  insect  pest  has  natural  enemies ;  the 
vital  question  in  this  case  was — what  were  the  natural  enemies 
of  the  leaf-hopper  and  where  were  they  to  be  found?  Obviously, 
too,  the  problem  was  to  discover  insectivorous  enemies  that 
would  not  themselves  attack  the  cane  after  they  had  destroyed 
the  hopper. 

After  careful  investigation  itwas  concluded  that  the  leaf-hop- 
per had  been  introduced  in  Hawaii  in  new  varieties  of  seed  cane 
imported  from  Australia,  and,  as  the  hopper  was  not  doing  ma- 
terial damage  on  the  plantations  in  Australia,  the  inference 
was  that  it  must  be  controlled  there  by  its  natural  enemy.  The 
chief  of  the  Department  of  Entomology  was  sent  to  London. 
There  in  the  archives  of  the  British  Museum  he  found  a  full  de- 
scription of  the  leaf-hopper  and  that  its  native  habitat  was 


4 


LKAF-HOPPER  (GREATLY  MAGNIFIED) 


SUGAR  CANE 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  II 

Queensland,  Australia.  On  his  return  to  Hawaii,  entomologists 
were  sent  to  Australia  and  the  search  for  the  enemy  of  the  hop- 
per began. 

For  weeks  the  entomologists  virtually  lived  in  the  cane  fields, 
undergoing  extreme  privations,  but  at  last  their  faithfulness 
was  crowned  with  success.  Several  species  of  parasites  that 
kept  the  Queensland  leaf-hopper  in  check  were  discovered,  and 
later  on  more  were  found  in  the  islands  of  Fiji.  These  tiny  crea- 
tures as  a  rule  were  invisible  to  the  naked  eye  and  could  only  be 
seen  with  the  aid  of  a  powerful  magnifying  glass.  All  of  these 
insects  were  parasites  either  of  the  leaf-hopper  or  its  eggs.  Two 
of  them  were  particularly  efficacious.  One,  quicker  in  movement 
than  the  hopper,  caught  it  unawares  and  attached  itself  to  the 
hopper's  body  much  in  the  same  way  that  a  mosquito  does  to  a 
human  being.  After  catching  it,  the  parasite  would  sting  the 
hopper  and  lay  an  egg  in  its  body.  In  a  few  days  a  young  para- 
site was  hatched  from  the  egg,  and  so  ravenous  was  this  young 
insect  that  it  devoured  the  hopper  in  a  short  time  and  then 
sought  a  fresh  victim  in  which  to  lay  its  eggs. 

The  other  insect  was  even  more  effective.  It  liked  the  hop- 
pers' eggs  and  for  a  long  time  found  plenty  in  Hawaii  to  stay 
its  appetite.  As  soon  as  the  leaf-hopper  laid  its  eggs  in  the  cane, 
this  particular  insect  would  appear  and  lay  its  eggs  in  the  eggs 
of  the  leaf-hopper.  When  the  little  enemies  hatched  out,  they 
fed  on  the  hoppers'  eggs  and  in  turn  laid  their  eggs  in  the  eggs 
of  the  hopper.  It  came  to  pass  that  the  hoppers,  attacked  by  the 
parasite  on  the  one  hand  and  by  the  enemy  on  the  other,  rapidly 
dwindled  in  number  until  only  a  few  remained,  and  these  not 
enough  to  do  material  damage.  As  the  hoppers  and  their  eggs 
diminished,  so  did  the  parasite  and  the  enemy,  for  the  latter 
could  live  on  insect  food  only. 

How  the  scientists  collected  these  tiny  animalcules,  kept 
them  alive,  transported  them  thousands  of  miles  across  the 


12  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

ocean,  bred  them  in  Hawaii  and  saved  the  Hawaiian  sugar  in- 
dustry, reads  like  a  romance. 

The  study  of  entomology  is  extremely  interesting  and  the 
every-day  business  man  rarely  understands  its  importance.  The 
finding,  breeding  and  distribution  of  parasites  of  insect  pests 
vitally  affects  the  world's  food  supply.  The  entomological  name 
of  the  leaf-hopper  family  is  Hemiptera,  and  Dr.  Sharp,  an  au- 
thority on  the  subject,  has  said :  "There  is  probably  no  order  of 
insects  that  is  so  directly  connected  with  the  welfare  of  the  hu- 
man race  as  the  hemipt'era;  indeed  if  anything  were  to  extermi- 
nate the  enemies  of  hemiptera,  we  ourselves  should  probably  be 
starved  in  the  course  of  a  few  months/' 

It  has  been  estimated  by  competent  authority  that  the  dam- 
age done  in  the  world  each  year  by  the  hemiptera,  in  spite  of 
all  their  parasites,  is  conservatively  $600,000,000.  Were  it  not 
for  the  parasites,  it  would  only  be  a  year  or  two  at  most  before 
every  green  leaf  and  spear  of  grass  would  disappear  from  the 
face  of  the  earth.  The  direct  influence  of  the  practical  applica- 
tion of  this  science  to  the  production  of  sugar  is  readily  appar- 
ent. 

Pathology  is  almost  equallyimportant.  In  former  years  when 
cane  failed  to  grow  strong  and  sturdy  and  did  not  yield  much 
sugar,  the  planter  usually  attributed  the  difficulty  either  to  lack 
of  water,  poor  soil,  cool  weather,  too  much  rain  or  insufficient 
cultivation  of  the  field  by  his  manager,  when  in  fact  the  trouble 
was  due  to  none  of  these  causes.  He  would  personally  oversee 
the  operations  of  the  following  year,  but  with  no  better  results. 

When  the  roots  of  the  cane  became  matted,  stuck  together 
and  turned  black,  when  a  thick  gum  exuded  from  the  stalk  and 
leaves,  preventing  the  plant  from  drawing  proper  nourishment 
from  the  air,  it  was  thought  that  these  troubles  arose  from  cli- 
matic or  local  conditions,  while  in  reality  the  plant  was  sick  and 
needed  a  doctor.  Today,  under  the  new  regime,  whenever  the 


EXPERIMENT  STATION 


•I 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  !3 

plant  shows  any  symptoms  of  ill-health,  the  pathologists  are 
called  in  to  eradicate  the  disease  by  scientific  treatment. 

Insect  pests  and  plant  diseases  are  generally  brought  into  a 
country  through  planters  sending  to  other  cane-raising  coun- 
tries for  new  varieties  of  cane  for  seeding  purposes  that  they 
think  may  produce  more  sugar  than  their  own.  Great  trouble 
and  heavy  loss  have  been  occasioned  in  this  way  and,  as  a  con- 
sequence, the  United  States  government  has  established  a  strict 
quarantine,  allowing  plant  life  to  be  landed  only  after  rigid  ex- 
amination and  when  it  is  clear  that  no  danger  exists. 

Another  example  of  the  work  of  the  entomologists  may  be  of 
interest: 

During  the  visit  of  a  well-known  Hawaiian  to  Mexico  many 
years  ago,  his  attention  was  attracted  by  a  beautiful  shrub  that 
he  thought  would  make  a  splendid  hedge  around  his  home.  It 
grew  about  five  feet  in  height  and  its  foliage  was  of  a  rich 
green,  with  a  brown,  red  and  yellow  flower.  The  slips  he 
brought  to  Honolulu  thrived  wonderfully  and  cuttings  of  the 
plant  were  taken  to  the  other  islands  for  a  like  purpose.  Wher- 
ever planted  it  grew  amazingly  fast.  It  quickly  spread  over  the 
hillsides  and  became  so  dense  that  cattle  could  not  penetrate 
the  thickets  formed  by  it.  It  made  valueless  large  areas  of  land 
that  formerly  had  been  used  for  the  pasturing  of  cattle  and 
plantation  stock,  and  reduced  the  grazing  area  at  an  alarming 
rate.  Land  that  adjoined  the  plantations  and  that  in  the  course 
of  time  became  needed  for  plantation  purposes  was  also  over- 
run by  it. 

The  curtailment  of  the  grazing  lands  and  the  increased  cost 
of  clearing  were  so  great  that  the  entomologists  were  finally 
sent  for  and  asked  if  they  could  not  eradicate  the  trouble.  After 
a  careful  investigation  they  went  to  Mexico,  whence  the  Ian- 
tana,  as  the  shrub  is  called,  had  come.  On  their  return  journey 
they  brought  back  with  them  a  fly.  The  fly  laid  its  eggs  in  the 


I4  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

bud  of  the  lantana,  and  when  the  young  flies  were  hatched  they 
fed  upon  the  lantana  seeds.  The  flies  multiplied  rapidly  and 
soon  made  away  with  the  seeds,  thus  preventing  the  shrub  from 
spreading  any  further.  When  it  was  once  cleared  from  the  land 
or  the  plantation  it  did  not  reappear. 

These  illustrations  demonstrate  the  fact  that  the  culture  of 
sugar  cane  involves  a  constant  struggle  between  science  and 
unrestrained  nature. 

As  a  rule,  Hawaiian  sugar  plantations  are  located  close  to  the 
seacoast,  between  it  and  the  base  of  the  mountains.  The  lands 
slope  gently  toward  the  sea,  thus  insuring  good  drainage  and 
easy  application  of  water  for  irrigation.  Most  of  the  cane  is 
grown  on  land  less  than  five  hundred  feet  above  sea-level,  al- 
though in  a  few  rare  instances  it  is  cultivated  at  an  elevation  as 
great  as  three  thousand  feet.  Parts  of  the  leeward  side  of  the 
islands,  where  it  is  extremely  dry  and  hot,  and  where  the  cane 
thrives  best,  depend  entirely  on  irrigation,  the  water  being 
brought  to  the  plantations  by  ditches  or  pumped  from  wells. 
On  the  windward  side  of  the  island  of  Hawaii,  where  the  rain- 
fall is  abundant,  irrigation  is  unnecessary  except  during  very 
dry  periods. 

In  cultivating,  the  ground  is  turned  with  steam  ploughs  to 
depths  up  to  twenty-four  inches.  These  ploughs  are  operated  by 
powerful  engines  that  work  in  pairs,  one  on  each  side  of  a 
field,  usually  from  one  thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  apart. 
One  engine  pulls  a  gang-plough  across  the  field  and  the  other 
draws  it  back.  By  this  method  the  rich  soil  is  thoroughly  loos- 
ened and  a  wonderful  vegetable  growth  results.  Ordinarily  in 
California  the  farmer  ploughs  only  from  four  to  six  inches  deep. 

After  the  lands  are  ploughed  and  harrowed  and  all  the  weeds 
turned  under,  double  mould-board  ploughs  are  used  to  make  the 
furrows  in  which  the  seed  is  planted.  The  furrows  are  not  like 
those  made  for  planting  potatoes,  but  are  about  five  feet  apart 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  15 

and  eighteen  inches  deep,  each  furrow  and  hill  being  symmetri- 
cal. They  follow  the  contour  of  the  land  so  that  the  irrigation 
water  will  fill  the  furrow  and  remain  there  until  it  is  absorbed 
by  the  soil  and  penetrates  to  the  cane  roots.  At  regular  intervals 
of  about  thirty-five  feet,  lateral  ditches  are  cut,  from  which 
there  is  an  entrance  into  every  furrow.  These  lateral  ditches 
deliver  the  water  from  the  main  ditches  to  the  various  parts  of 
the  fields.  The  land  is  now  ready  for  the  seed. 

Meanwhile,  the  harvesting  of  the  ripened  cane  in  other  fields 
is  going  on.  As  the  laborers  cut  the  cane,  they  top  it,  that  is  to 
say,  they  cut  off  about  twelve  inches  of  the  upper  part  of  the 
solid  stalk.  Sugar  cane  resembles  bamboo,  in  that  it  is  cylindri- 
cal in  shape  and  divided  every  few  inches  into  sections  by  rings 
or  joints.  In  every  joint  there  is  a  bud  or  eye,  from  which  a 
shoot  of  cane  will  sprout,  if  properly  planted  in  the  ground  and 
watered. 

These  tops,  always  cut  from  untasseled  cane,  contain  very 
little  sugar.  They  are  carried  to  the  newly  prepared  field  and 
placed  in  rows  in  the  furrows,  end  to  end,  lengthwise,  the  ends 
overlapping  a  trifle  in  order  to  guard  against  blank  spaces  in 
the  growing  cane.  They  are  then  covered,  according  to  the  sea- 
son, with  one  to  one  and  a  half  inches  of  earth,  and  the  water  is 
turned  in  until  the  furrow  contains  from  three  to  four  inches  of 
water.  Between  six  and  ten  days  afterward,  the  little  green 
cane  shoots  appear  above  the  ground.  From  this  time  forward 
continuous  irrigation  and  cultivation,  together  with  proper  fer- 
tilization, are  required  until  the  cane  matures. 
^Planting  usually  begins  in  March  and  continues  until  Sep- 
tember, sometimes  later,  and  the  cane  ripens  one  year  from  the 
following  December. 

Growing  cane  should  be  watered  every  seven  days,  and  the 
amount  of  water  used  for  this  purpose  is  enormous.  For  exam- 
ple: a  plantation  producing  thirty-five  thousand  tons  of  sugar 


16  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

per  annum  needs  twice  as  much  water  per  day  as  the  city  of 
San  Francisco. 

The  appearance  of  growing  cane  is  much  like  that  of  Indian 
corn.  The  whole  field  area  is  covered  with  a  dense,  jungle-like 
vegetation  of  brilliant  green.  The  leaves  are  long  and  narrow 
and  hang  in  graceful  curves.  The  cane  grows  so  thick  that  it 
is  almost  impossible  to  crawl  through  it,  and  so  seldom  do  the 
sun's  rays  penetrate  to  the  ground  that  rapid  evaporation  of  the 
irrigation  water  cannot  take  place,  hence  the  cane  gets  the  full 
benefit  of  the  moisture. 

In  certain  varieties  of  cane,  the  great  weight  of  the  juice 
in  the  stalks  causes  them  to  bend,  droop  and  take  fantastic 
shapes.  Sometimes  they  lie  on  the  ground  with  the  ends  turned 
upward,  and  in  fields  where  the  stalks  grow  to  a  length  of  twen- 
ty-four feet,  the  average  height  of  the  tops  above  the  ground  is 
not  over  twelve  feet.  In  other  kinds  the  stalks  stand  straight  up 
to  a  height  of  from  eight  to  fourteen  feet. 

The  production  of  cane  per  acre  varies  in  different  countries 
and  in  different  parts  of  the  same  country,  according  to  the 
character  of  the  soil,  climatic  conditions,  care  and  attention, 
use  of  fertilizer  and  amount  of  rainfall  or  irrigation.  In  Hawaii 
it  ranges  from  twenty  to  eighty-five  tons,  and  the  amount  of 
sugar  obtained  per  acre  runs  from  two  and  one-half  tons  to 
twelve  tons,  the  average  being  about  five  tons. 

Broadly  speaking,  lack  of  a  normal  amount  of  cane  per  acre, 
lack  of  sugar  in  the  cane,  or  the  prevalence  of  disease,  is  pri- 
marily due  to  an  unsanitary  or  unsuitable  condition  of  the  soil. 
This  can  usually  be  corrected  by  proper  cultural  methods,  such 
as  adequate  aeration  of  the  soil,  the  turning  under  of  the  cane 
tops  and  leaves,  application  of  lime  and  suitable  combinations 
of  fertilizing  ingredients.  Fundamentally,  cane  requires  a  well- 
aerated,  moist,  alkaline  soil  and  a  fertilizer  in  which  the  nitro- 
gen content  is  high  and  in  excess  of  the  potash  and  phosphoric 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  17 

acid.  It  is  found  that  nitrate  of  soda,  when  applied  alone  or  in 
combination  with  potash  and  phosphoric  acid,  produces  a  very 
strong  growth.  The  proper  sanitation  of  the  soil  tends  to  pro- 
mote the  beneficial  bacterial  action  so  essential  to  the  growth 
of  the  cane. 

In  December  and  January  the  cane  tassels  or  flowers,  which 
indicates  that  it  has  about  reached  maturity  and  is  ready  for 
cutting.  Thenceforward  very  little  irrigating  is  done,  as  ad- 
ditional water  applied  at  this  time  might  retard  ripening,  which 
would  mean  a  reduced  amount  of  sugar  stored  up  in  the  cane. 

It  is  interesting  to  note  that  while  the  cane  is  growing  and  in 
an  unripe  state,  there  is  no  discernible  sucrose  or  pure  sugar  in 
it.  As  the  ripening  process  goes  on,  the  content  of  the  cane  juice 
is  changed  by  the  action  of  the  sun's  rays,  and  the  amount  of 
sucrose  as  determined  by  polariscopic  test  shows  when  the  time 
for  harvesting  is  at  hand.  Nature's  operation  in  thus  changing 
glucose  or  invert  sugar  into  sucrose  or  pure  sugar  cannot  be 
accomplished  by  any  human  means. 

The  harvesting  then  begins  and  continues  until  the  end  of 
July  or  August.  Usually  the  field  is  set  on  fire  before  cutting. 
On  account  of  the  great  amount  of  moisture  or  juice  in  the 
cane,  the  stalks  do  not  burn,  but  the  leaves  are  thoroughly  con- 
sumed. This  operation  eliminates  a  good  deal  of  leaf  material 
that  is  not  only  useless,  but  which,  if  sent  to  the  mill,  would  in- 
crease the  cost  of  crushing,  besides  absorbing  a  certain  quantity 
of  the  juice  expressed  from  the  cane. 

Formerly  men  stripped  the  leaves  from  the  cane  in  the  fields, 
but  it  was  a  difficult  matter  to  accomplish  such  work,  and  the 
cost  was  heavy.  An  accident  changed  the  method  of  doing  this 
work.  A  field  took  fire  and  it  was  found  that  while  all  the  leaves 
were  consumed,  little  or  no  damage  was  done  to  the  stalks  pro- 
vided they  were  cut  promptly  and  sent  to  the  mill  to  be  crushed. 
The  practice  of  burning  has  since  become  general,  although  the 


l8  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

advisability  of  continuing  it  is  now  being  given  very  careful 
study. 

Burning  eliminates  the  arduous  labor  of  stripping,  and  no 
doubt  does  away  with  many  harmful  insects  and  fungi,  but  at 
the  same  time  it  destroys  the  enemies  and  parasites  of  these  in- 
sects and  this  loss  is  severely  felt.  Another  disadvantage  of 
burning  is  that  the  nitrogen  contained  in  the  cane  leaves  is  lib- 
erated and  not  returned  to  the  soil  as  would  be  the  case  if  the 
leaves  were  stripped  and  ploughed  under.  In  the  latter  case  the 
leaves  rot  rapidly,  add  humus  to  the  soil,  help  aeration,  and  im- 
prove the  sanitary  condition,  all  of  which  tends  to  increase  the 
yield  of  cane  per  acre.  From  recent  experience  it  is  not  improb- 
able that  burning  will  be  discontinued  in  the  near  future. 

As  soon  as  the  field  is  ready,  whether  burned  or  not,  the  la- 
borers go  in  to  cut  the  cane.  A  long,  heavy  knife  is  used.  The 
cutter  grasps  the  stalk  and  drives  the  knife  into  it,  severing  it 
just  at  the  ground.  He  then  tops  it,  that  is,  he  cuts  off  the  upper 
part  that  contains  no  sugar,  and,  to  aid  in  subsequent  handling, 
the  long  stalks  are  cut  into  convenient  lengths. 

As  the  burning  destroys  the  eyes  or  buds,  certain  fields  are 
cut  and  topped  for  seed  before  the  burning  takes  place.  . 

There  are  two  general  methods  of  transporting  the  cane  to 
the  mills.  One  is  by  rail  and  the  other  by  flumes.  On  the  irri- 
gated plantations  where  water  is  never  overplentiful,  railroad 
tracks  and  locomotives  are  invariably  employed,  while  on  the 
non-irrigated  plantations,  located  in  districts  where  there  are 
copious  annual  rains,  V-shaped  flumes  are  extensively  used.  In 
some  cases  a  combination  of  both  systems  is  adopted  to  advan- 
tage. From  the  upper  lands  where  it  is  difficult  to  construct 
railroads,  the  cane  is  flumed  to  a  convenient  point  on  the  rail- 
road system,  at  a  lower  elevation,  and  delivered  into  cars,  while 
the  water  is  conducted  into  ditches  and  used  for  irrigating  the 
lower  cane  lands. 


RIPE  SUGAR  CANE— SHOWING  TASSELS 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  !9 

In  the  case  of  rail  transportation,  paths  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  apart  are  cut  through  the  fields  so  that  temporary  railroad 
tracks  may  be  laid  and  cars  run  in  and  loaded  on  these  tracks. 
The  whole  field  is  then  cut  in  the  same  way  and  the  work  con- 
tinued until  the  entire  crop  is  harvested. 

The  loaders  follow  up  the  cutters.  These  men  lay  a  strap  on 
the  ground  and  pile  the  stalks  on  the  strap  until  they  have  a 
bundle  of  cane  weighing  from  seventy-five  to  one  hundred 
pounds.  With  a  dexterity  born  of  long  practice,  they  sling  a 
bundle  upon  their  shoulders  and  carry  it  up  an  inclined  runway 
to  a  railroad  car  not  over  seventy-five  feet  away  and  dump  it  on 
the  car.  The  cutting  and  loading  are  usually  done  by  contract, 
at  so  much  per  ton,  and  it  is  remarkable  how  proficient  the  men 
become. 

When  flumes  are  used  exclusively,  much  the  same  methods 
are  adopted.  Paths  are  cut  through  the  fields  and  in  these  paths 
are  placed  the  flumes  which,  like  the  temporary  railroad  tracks, 
are  moved  from  time  to  time  as  necessity  demands.  The  mill  is 
located  at  the  lowest  point  on  the  plantation  and  the  flumes  are 
placed  so  as  to  insure  a  good  grade  from  the  cane  fields  on  the 
uplands  to  the  mill  below.  The  flumes  are  either  carried  on  low 
trestles  or  run  along  the  ground,  but  always  at  a  height  which 
enables  the  laborers  to  throw  the  cane  into  them  conveniently. 

Water  is  turned  into  the  upper  end  of  the  flume  and,  rushing 
rapidly  down,  carries  or  floats  the  cane  to  the  mill.  Cane  is 
flumed  in  this  way  for  distances  up  to  seven  miles  at  low  cost 
and  with  satisfactory  results. 

The  cars  when  loaded  in  the  fields  are  made  up  into  trains 
and  hauled  by  locomotives  to  the  mill,  which  is  generally  lo- 
cated about  the  center  of  the  plantation,  or  at  a  point  where 
most  of  the  cane  can  be  delivered  on  a  downward  grade.  Each 
car  is  carefully  weighed  on  a  track  scale  and  the  exact  quantity 
of  its  load  of  cane  is  ascertained  and  recorded. 


20  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

For  years  past  the  planters  have  been  offering  large  rewards 
for  the  invention  of  a  machine  to  cut  and  load  the  cane,  but  the 
old  hand  method  is  still  employed,  although  some  experimental 
loading  machines  are  meeting  with  more  or  less  success,  but 
none  are  in  common  use. 

The  problems  involved  in  cutting  cane  by  machinery  seem 
insurmountable,  and,  while  many  devices  have  been  tried,  not 
one  has  proved  successful. 

After  the  cane  is  cut  the  first  time,  ploughs  are  sent  through 
the  fields  and  a  furrow  is  ploughed  along  each  side  of  the  stubs 
of  the  cane  which  are  left  in  place.  This  ploughing  opens  up  the 
ground,  aerates  the  soil,  and  affords  the  irrigating  or  rain  water 
a  means  of  easy  access  to  the  cane  roots.  The  water  tenders  fol- 
low up  the  ploughs  and  the  furrows  are  filled  with  water,  which 
is  gradually  absorbed  by  the  old  cane  roots  left  in  the  ground. 
In  time  new  sprouts  spring  up  from  buds  on  the  old  stalks  of 
the  cane  and  another  growth  begins.  The  second  crop  is  called 
"first  ratoons"  and,  when  cultivated  for  a  single  year  only,  it  is 
designated  "short  ratoons."  As  a  rule  it  does  not  yield  as  much 
sugar  as  plant  cane,  but  the  saving  in  seed,  in  the  preparation 
of  the  fields  and  in  other  labor  frequently  makes  up  for  the  re- 
duced amount  of  sugar.  If  allowed  to  grow  for  two  years,  as  is 
generally  the  case,  it  is  called  "long  ratoons"  and  produces  pro- 
portionately more  sugar.  In  the  past  a  very  large  percentage  of 
the  Hawaiian  crop  was  planted  with  fresh  seed  every  year  and 
but  a  small  percentage  ratooned.  Nowadays,  however,  the  ten- 
dency is  to  ratoon  the  crop  as  long  as  the  yield  justifies,  which 
in  many  cases  is  from  three  to  four  times.  In  Cuba  the  cane 
when  once  planted  is  ratooned  for  many  years. 

There  have  been  specific  instances  in  Hawaii  where  ratoons 
that  have  been  allowed  to  grow  for  two  years  (long  ratoons) 
have  shown  a  better  yield  than  the  first  planting.  According  to 
the  best  information,  this  is  due  to  the  presence  of  poisonous 


THE  GROWING  OF  SUGAR  CANE  21 

matter  in  the  ground,  turned  up  for  the  first  time  at  the  first 
planting. 

The  object  of  all  the  ploughing,  weeding,  cultivating,  fertiliz- 
ing and  irrigating,  is  to  produce  a  large  number  of  strong,  stur- 
dy stalks  of  cane,  yielding  a  maximum  amount  of  sugar.  The 
sugar  is  contained  in  solution  in  the  sap  or  juice  and  the  amount 
can  be  materially  increased  by  due  care  and  attention. 

As  some  of  the  elements  which  form  the  plant  are  absorbed 
from  the  air  through  the  leaves,  favorable  climatic  conditions 
are  essential  to  its  full,  growth  and  development.  Proper  fertil- 
izers must  be  added  to  the  soil,  and  water  applied  regularly  and 
in  sufficient  quantity. 

Commercial  fertilizers  are  used  in  Hawaii  probably  to  a 
greater  extent  than  in  any  other  country  in  the  world.  It  is 
quite  common  for  plantations  to  use  half  a  ton  of  fertilizer  per 
acre  per  crop,  and  at  times  as  much  as  two  thousand  pounds 
per  acre.  The  yearly  fertilizer  cost  per  acre  will  probably  aver- 
age twenty-five  dollars. 

As  it  takes  eighteen  months  for  a  crop  to  mature  in  Hawaii, 
it  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  plantation  area  must  be  at  least 
double  that  used  for  any  one  crop.  While  one  crop  is  being  har- 
vested, another  crop  is  in  the  ground  growing.  As  soon  as  the 
cane  is  cut,  the  lands  are  immediately  prepared  for  replanting 
or  ratooning,  as  the  case  may  be.  During  certain  periods  each 
year,  usually  in  June  and  July,  a  visitor  on  an  Hawaiian  plan- 
tation can  see  one  crop  growing,  one  being  harvested  and  one 
being  planted. 

From  the  foregoing  it  will  be  seen  that  the  harvesting  begins 
in  December  and  ends  in  July  or  August.  The  planting  begins 
from  March  to  June  and  usually  ends  in  September,  according 
to  plantation  conditions  and  whether  or  not  the  land  is  irri- 
gated. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR 

THE  details  of  the  manufacture  of  raw  sugar  from  cane 
and  of  sugar  from  beet  roots  differ,  but  there  are  several 
processes  common  to  both.  The  operations  necessary 
for  making  raw  cane  sugar  are  as  follows : 

1.  The  extraction  of  the  juice. 

2.  The  purification  of  the  juice. 

3.  The  evaporation  of  the  juice  to  syrup  point. 

4.  The  concentration  and  crystallization  of  the  syrup. 

5.  The  preparation  of  the  crystals  or  grains  for  the  market 

by  separating  them  from  the  molasses. 

Every  mill  has  an  extensive  laboratory  where  skilled  chem- 
ists are  constantly  engaged  in  sampling  and  analyzing  cane, 
raw  juices,  syrups,  sugars  and  molasses.  In  fact  the  chemical 
work  is  a  most  important  feature  in  the  raw-sugar  house,  beet- 
sugar  factory  or  refinery.  The  superintendent  should  be  an  ex- 
pert chemist,  as  the  proper  recovery  of  the  sugar  from  the  cane 
and  beet  juices  is  wholly  dependent  upon  the  technical  control 
of  manufacturing  processes. 

EXTRACTION 

After  passing  the  scales,  the  cars  containing  the  cane  are 
switched  alongside  the  carrier  which  feeds  the  cane  into  the 
mills.  Before  the  cane  is  unloaded,  however,  samples  are  taken 
from  each  car  and  sent  to  the  laboratory,  where  they  are  care- 
fully analyzed.  The  amount  of  sugar  present  is  ascertained,  as 
well  as  the  quantity  and  quality  of  the  juice  in  the  cane.  It  is, 
however,  impossible  to  get  a  fair  average  sample  of  the  cane  in 
this  way,  and  therefore  the  efficiency  of  the  mill  work  is  deter- 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  23 

mined  on  the  basis  of  an  analysis  of  the  juice  and  the  fiber  after 
it  has  passed  through  the  crushers. 

The  carrier  just  referred  to  is  a  wide  slat  conveyor,  running 
alongside  the  railroad  tracks  in  the  yards  to  a  point  directly 
over  the  first  set  of  crushers.  The  cane  is  taken  from  the  cars  by 
a  mechanical  unloader,  the  arms  of  which  reach  out  and  with 
distended  fingers  pull  the  cane  stalks  off  and  land  them  on  the 
slow-moving  carrier,  which  takes  them  onward  and  upward  to 
the  crusher. 

The  crusher  consists  of  two  large  rolls,  with  immense  inter- 
locking, corrugated  teeth  on  the  circumference  of  each.  These 
rolls  are  set  close  together,  and  the  cane  passing  through  is 
broken  into  short  pieces  and  matted  to  an  even  layer.  The  juice 
squeezed  out  by  this  preliminary  crushing  runs  through  a 
metal  trough  into  a  large  receptacle  known  as  the  juice  tank. 

From  the  crusher  the  mat  of  cane  passes  to  the  mills  proper. 
These  mills  consist  of  from  nine  to  eighteen  rolls,  about  thirty- 
four  inches  in  diameter  and  seventy-eight  inches  long,  arranged 
in  groups  of  three,  set  in  the  form  of  an  isosceles  triangle,  one 
above  and  two  below,  one  set  following  the  other  in  a  direct 
line.  The  lower  rolls  are  parted  enough  to  allow  the  expressed 
juice  to  fall  through  them,  while  the  half-crushed  cane  is  car- 
ried over  by  means  of  an  iron  bar  called  the  returner.  The  faces 
of  the  rolls  are  more  or  less  roughened,  or  grooved,  so  as  to 
draw  the  cane  through  and  give  a  better  crushing  action.  They 
are  turned  slowly  by  powerful  engines,  which  transmit  the 
power  to  each  set  of  rolls  through  a  system  of  gears.  The  rolls 
are  forced  together  by  hydraulic  rams  exerting  a  pressure  of 
from  four  hundred  to  six  hundred  tons.  It  is  this  tremendous 
pressure  that  squeezes  the  sugar-bearing  juice  out  of  the  cane. 

From  the  crusher  the  matted  cane  passes  through  the  first  set 
of  rolls,  where  a  large  percentage  of  the  remaining  juice  is  lib- 
erated. This  is  caught  in  a  metal  trough  and,  after  passing  over 


24  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

a  fine  screen  to  remove  the  small  pieces  of  cane,  runs  to  the 
juice  tank.  The  cane  passes  through  the  second  set  of  rolls, 
thence  to  the  third  set,  and  so  on  to  the  end  of  the  mill.  In  front 
of  the  last  set  of  rolls,  hot  water  is  sprayed  on  the  cane  to  sof- 
ten the  fiber  and  dilute  the  remaining  juice,  thus  aiding  the 
final  extraction.  The  adding  of  hot  water  is  termed  maceration. 
By  the  time  the  cane  has  passed  through  the  last  set  of  rolls,  all 
the  economically  recoverable  juice  is  out  of  it  and  delivered  into 
the  juice  tank,  with  the  exception  of  the  juice  and  maceration 
water  from  the  last  set  of  rolls,  which  is  always  returned  to  the 
preceding  set  of  rolls  for  maceration  purposes.  The  juice  or  ma- 
ceration water  coming  from  the  last  set  of  rolls  contains  very 
little  sugar,  and  the  object  is  to  secure  greater  concentration  by 
using  it  for  double  maceration  instead  of  adding  that  much  ad- 
ditional water  which  would  have  to  be  evaporated  later  on  in 
the  process. 

In  well-designed,  modern  mills,  with  cane  carrying  not  over 
twelve  per  cent  of  fiber,  more  than  ninety-eight  per  cent  of  the 
sugar  in  the  cane  is  extracted,  the  remainder  being  left  in  the 
fiber.  This  is  almost  perfection  today.  What  it  will  be  tomor- 
row no  one  can  say. 

The  fibrous,  woody  part  of  the  cane,  or  bagasse  as  it  is 
called,  is  comparatively  dry  as  it  leaves  the  last  rolls.  It  is  con- 
veyed from  the  mills  to  the  boiler  house  on  a  wide  slat  convey- 
or, and  fed  directly  into  the  furnaces  under  the  boilers  that  gen- 
erate the  steam  for  power  and  boiling  purposes.  A  modern  raw- 
sugar  mill  requires  practically  no  other  fuel  than  that  obtained 
as  a  by-product  from  the  crushing  of  the  cane. 

The  boiler  plant  is  usually  of  large  capacity,  as  a  great  deal 
of  sieam  is  required  to  drive  the  engines  that  run  the  crusher, 
the  rolls,  the  electric  lighting  system,  the  pumps  and  other  ma- 
chinery. Besides,  a  large  amount  is  needed  to  evaporate  the  wa- 
ter in  the  juice  and  to  boil  and  dry  the  sugar.  The  ashes  from 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  25 

the  furnaces  are  returned  to  the  fields  as  fertilizer,  so  that  very 
little  is  lost. 

PURIFICATION 

The  juice  as  it  comes  from  the  mills  contains  impurities  such 
as  dirt  from  the  fields,  small  pieces  of  cane  stalks  and  other  for- 
eign matter,  besides  salts,  gum,  wax  and  albumen.  It  is  neces- 
sary to  remove  as  many  of  these  substances  as  possible,  and 
this  is  where  the  chemist's  work  begins. 

So  long  as  the  juice  is  confined  in  the  living  cells  of  the  cane 
it  does  not  quickly  ferment,  but  when  liberated  it  rapidly  un- 
dergoes such  change.  Therefore  no  time  is  lost  in  arresting  this 
action.  The  juice  is  pumped  to  the  top  floor  of  the  mill  and  there 
a  solution  of  milk  of  lime  is  added  in  sufficient  proportions  to 
neutralize  the  acidity.  The  mixture  is  then  heated  in  closed 
tanks  under  pressure  to  215  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  heat 
causes  the  lime  to  combine  rapidly  with  the  gums  and  salts  in 
the  juice,  and  the  albumen  to  coagulate. 

The  hot  juice  is  then  run  into  large  settling  tanks,  where  the 
insoluble  solids  and  the  albumen  sink  to  the  bottom,  carrying 
with  them  vegetable  and  other  matter  suspended  in  the  juice. 
Certain  foreign  substances  of  light  specific  gravity  float  to  the 
surface  in  the  form  of  scum. 

After  settling  for  a  time  the  clear  juice  is  drawn  off  and  the 
scum,  mud  and  cloudy  liquor  left  in  the  tank.  As  a  vast  amount 
of  liquor  must  be  handled  every  hour,  it  is  not  practicable  to 
have  tank  capacity  great  enough  to  admit  of  the  liquor  stand- 
ing a  sufficient  length  of  time  for  every  particle  of  foreign  mat- 
ter to  settle,  so  as  an  adjunct  to  the  settling  tank,  filters  are 
used.  These  are  cylindrical  iron  tanks,  packed  tightly  with  or- 
dinary wood  fiber,  known  as  excelsior.  The  juice  is  conducted 
to  these  filters,  and  as  it  percolates  through  the  excelsior,  prac- 
tically all  of  the  remaining  foreign  matter  is  caught  and  re- 
tained in  the  fiber.  The  clear  juice  is  then  run  to  the  receiving 


26  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

tanks  for  the  evaporators  and  the  mud  and  scum  that  remain 
are  drawn  off  into  mud  tanks,  where  more  lime  is  added  and 
the  mass  stirred  up.  Finally  it  is  delivered  to  the  filter  presses, 
where  the  mud  and  other  impurities  are  taken  out  and  the  clear 
liquor  containing  sugar  is  sent  to  the  evaporators. 

Another  method  for  cleaning,  called  "precipitation  in  mo- 
tion," is  to  carefully  lime  the  juice  and  then  heat  it  in  closed 
vessels  and  under  sufficient  pressure  to  carry  it  through  a  pipe 
to  large  insulated  settling  tanks. 

These  settling  tanks,  usually  of  sheet  steel,  are  made  in  the 
form  of  truncated  cones  with  conical  bottoms,  the  small  diam- 
eter of  the  tank  being  at  the  top.  Suspended  in  the  center  is  a 
vertical  cylinder  somewhat  less  in  diameter  than  the  upper  part 
of  the  tank.  This  cylinder  extends  downward  about  eight  feet 
to  a  point  opposite  the  largest  diameter,  which  makes  the  area 
between  the  circumference  of  the  suspended  cylinder  and  the 
tank  at  that  point  very  much  greater  than  the  area  of  the  cylin- 
der itself.  This  difference  in  area  is  necessary  to  retard  the  flow 
of  the  juice  and  allow  the  sediment,  mud  and  insoluble  solids 
to  be  deposited  at  the  bottom  of  the  tank. 

The  juice  is  delivered  by  a  pipe  into  the  top  of  the  cylinder 
which  projects  a  few  inches  above  the  edge  of  the  surrounding 
settling  tank.  It  passes  slowly  down  the  central  passageway, 
turns  at  the  bottom,  where  its  speed  is  materially  slackened, 
and  goes  out  through  a  pipe  line  connected  to  the  side  of  the 
tank  just  below  the  upper  edge. 

There  are  several  other  methods  in  general  use,  but  in  all  of 
them  the  principle  of  settling,  upon  which  the  separation  or 
cleaning  depends,  is  the  difference  in  specific  gravity  between 
the  juice  and  the  dirt.  A  high  and  even  temperature  should  be 
maintained  by  preventing  radiation,  as  lowering  the  tempera- 
ture would  increase  the  specific  gravity  and  viscosity  of  the 
juice  without  increasing  that  of  the  dirt  in  equal  proportion. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  27 

There  are  many  different  types  of  filter  presses,  but  those  at 
present  in  general  use  are  long,  oblong  machines,  set  horizon- 
tally on  the  floors,  with  layers  of  corrugated  iron  plates,  cov- 
ered with  canvas  sheets,  between  which  are  hollow  frames  so 
arranged  that  the  juice  will  pass  from  the  hollow  frames 
through  the  canvas  to  the  corrugations  in  the  plates. 

In  passing  through  the  presses  under  pressure  the  sediment, 
scum  and  other  impurities  are  caught  on  the  canvas  sheets  and 
the  clear  juice  passes  through  the  canvas,  down  the  corruga- 
tions and  out  through  small  holes  in  the  plates  controlled  by 
valves  on  the  outside  of  the  presses,  from  whence  it  runs  to  the 
evaporator  tanks.  The  sugar  in  the  mud  caught  in  the  hollow 
frames  is  washed  out  of  the  mud  with  water  and  is  sent  to  the 
evaporator,  while  the  mud  itself  is  finally  returned  to  the  field, 
to  be  used  as  a  fertilizer. 

The  clarified  juice  from  the  settling  tanks,  filters  or  presses, 
is  light  brown  in  color,  but  is  thin  and  watery,  and  must  now  be 
reduced  to  syrup  point.  All  the  suspended  impurities  have  been 
removed,  but  some  impurities  in  solution  and  the  original  color- 
ing matter  still  remain.  Some  of  these  foreign  substances  are 
subsequently  eliminated  during  the  process  of  crystallization  in 
the  vacuum  pans  described  later  on. 

The  object  to  be  attained  in  a  raw-sugar  house  is  the  produc- 
tion of  a  sugar  containing  ninety-six  per  cent  of  sucrose,  and 
there  is  little  or  nothing  to  be  gained  by  carrying  the  process  of 
manufacture  beyond  the  stage  that  insures  such  result. 

The  final  extraction  of  all  the  impurities  and  the  conversion 
of  the  impure  raw  into  pure  white  granulated  sugar  is  the  work 
of  the  refiner,  which  is  dealt  with  in  a  subsequent  chapter. 

From  the  time  the  juice  leaves  the  cane  until  it  is  crystallized 
it  is  kept  at  a  high  temperature,  as  cold  juices  or  syrups  are  vis- 
cous and  run  slowly.  High  temperatures  kill  germs,  prevent 
fermentation  and  expedite  manipulation. 


28  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

EVAPORATION 

Under  ordinary  atmospheric  pressure  at  sea-level,  water  boils 
at  a  temperature  of  212  degrees  Fahrenheit  and  sugar  juice  at 
a  few  degrees  higher,  according  to  its  density.  This  tempera- 
ture if  long  applied  to  sugar  juice  would  tend  to  burn  and  de- 
stroy the  sugar,  but  the  juice  can  be  heated  to  250  degrees  for 
a  short  time  without  deterioration. 

The  clarified  juice  contains  about  eighty-five  per  cent  of  wa- 
ter and  fifteen  per  cent  of  solid  matter.  A  large  proportion  of 
the  water  must  be  removed  by  evaporation.  To  accomplish  this 
under  ordinary  atmospheric  conditions  would  require  heat  in- 
creasing from  212  degrees  Fahrenheit,  as  the  solution  increased 
in  specific  gravity  above  the  standard  of  pure  water.  This  would 
require  a  large  amount  of  fuel,  and  the  juice  would  also  be  more 
or  less  adversely  affected  by  long  maintenance  of  comparatively 
high  temperature. 

To  obviate  these  conditions  the  juice  is  boiled  in  a  multiple 
evaporator,  the  invention  of  Norberto  Rillieux,  whose  first  con- 
struction in  New  Orleans  in  1840  was  a  double  effect  horizontal 
submerged  tube  apparatus  which  has  since  undergone  many 
changes  and  improvements.  The  theory  of  evaporation  in  vacuo 
was  extended  to  two  or  more  cells  or  vacuum  bodies,  using  the 
steam  or  vapor  from  the  first  to  heat  the  juice  or  syrup  in  the 
second  and  so  on.  At  the  present  time  the  quadruple  effect, 
or  four-cell  evaporator,  is  most  commonly  in  use,  although 
sextuple  effects  are  not  rare.  The  ordinary  practice  is  as  fol- 
lows: 

The  juice  enters  cell  No.  I  and  covers  the  heating  tubes,  to 
which  is  admitted  sufficient  steam — generally  exhaust  from  the 
engines — to  cause  the  liquid  to  boil.  The  steam  or  vapor  liber- 
ated from  this  first  boiling  is  conducted  through  the  vapor  pipe 
directly  into  the  heating  tubes  of  cell  No.  2,  while  the  juice  from 
cell  No.  i  is  passed  into  the  second,  or  cell  No.  2,  and  surrounds 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  29 

the  heating  surfaces  which  contain  the  hot  vapor  given  off  from 
the  same  juice  in  cell  No.  i. 

As  there  is  little  or  no  pressure  above  the  liquid  in  the  first 
cell,  the  juice  boils  at  from  215  degrees  to  220  degrees  Fah- 
renheit. By  maintaining  a  vacuum  of  five  inches  in  the  second 
cell,  the  temperature  at  which  the  liquid  will  boil  is  reduced  to 
203  degrees,  and  the  vapor  from  cell  No.  i  is  hot  enough  to  boil 
the  juice  in  cell  No.  2  without  any  addition  of  heat.  The  vapor 
from  cell  No.  2  in  the  same  way  enters  the  heating  tubes  of  cell 
No.  3,  while  the  juice  entering  this  cell  is  exposed  to  a  vacuum 
of  fifteen  inches,  which  reduces  the  boiling  temperature  to  180 
degrees,  so  that  the  difference  of  23  degrees  between  the  condi- 
tions of  cell  No.  2  and  cell  No.  3  causes  a  third  boiling  and  evap- 
oration without  any  additional  steam  being  added. 

A  vacuum  of  twenty-six  inches  in  the  last  cell,  No.  4,  brings 
the  final  boiling  temperature  down  to  about  150  degrees.  The 
vapor  from  this  last  cell  enters  a  condenser,  where  it  is  exposed 
to  a  spray  of  cold  water,  is  condensed  and  passes  down  a  pipe 
not  less  than  thirty-four  feet  long,  terminating  in  a  water  seal, 
and  called  the  Torricellian  tube,  after  Torricelli,  who  discov- 
ered that  mercury  would  rise  thirty  inches  in  a  tube  while  wa- 
ter would  rise  thirty-four  feet  with  a  perfect  vacuum. 

The  juice  in  passing  through  these  evaporating  cells  is  boiled 
to  a  syrup  containing  about  thirty-five  per  cent  of  water  and 
sixty-five  per  cent  of  solid  matter.  It  is  pumped  out  of  the  fourth 
cell  into  the  receiving  tank  for  the  vacuum  pan. 

This  quadruple  system  of  boiling  only  requires  about  one- 
fourth  the  amount  of  heat  that  would  be  necessary  to  do  the 
same  work  in  a  single  vessel.  As  the  evaporators  operate  con- 
tinuously, a  constant  level  of  the  boiling  liquid  is  maintained  in 
each  cell,  the  juice  being  drawn  from  one  to  the  other  by  in- 
creasing vacuum  and  controlled  or  regulated  by  means  of 
valves. 


30  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

A  powerful  vacuum  pump  draws  the  air  and  other  incondens- 
able gases  from  the  condenser  and  maintains  the  vacuum, 
which  is  applied  to  the  necessary  extent  in  each  cell.  The  heat- 
ing tubes  are  connected  to  drain  pipes,  which  remove  the  con- 
densed vapors. 

Vacuum,  simply  and  concisely  stated,  is  the  absence  of  air 
or  gas.  It  is  usually  obtained  by  pumps  which  suck  the  air  or 
gas  out  of  closed  containers  or  pipes.  No  doubt  many  of  the 
readers  in  their  younger  days  have  sucked  on  the  end  of  a  bottle 
and  were  amused  to  find  the  bottle  hanging  on  the  end  of  the 
tongue.  It  was  the  vacuum,  or  lack  of  air  in  the  bottle,  which 
caused  it  to  hang  thus.  The  outside  atmospheric  pressure 
(which  at  sea-level  is  fifteen  pounds  per  square  inch)  was  doing 
its  best  to  gain  an  entrance  through  the  tongue  into  the  bottle 
from  which  the  air  had  been  extracted. 

The  pumps  simply  suck  the  air  out  of  the  containers  or  pipes 
and  discharge  it  through  valves,  in  much  the  same  way  that 
the  air  was  sucked  out  of  the  bottle.  It  must  be  remembered, 
however,  that  in  boiling  water  or  juice,  the  vacuum  is  being 
continually  broken  or  reduced  by  the  liberation  of  air  and 
gases  from  the  juice,  steam  and  condensing  water.  This  action 
must  be  overcome  by  the  constant  work  of  the  vacuum  pump. 

To  determine  the  amount  of  vacuum  carried  in  any  contain- 
er, a  small  mechanical  contrivance,  known  as  a  vacuum  gauge, 
is  used.  This,  in  its  simplest  form,  is  a  bowl  of  mercury  with  a 
long  glass  tube  leading  from  it.  If  the  upper  end  of  the  glass 
tube  is  attached  to  the  container  from  which  the  air  is  to  be 
drawn,  the  mercury  in  the  tube  will  rise  in  proportion  to  the 
amount  of  air  extracted.  When  an  absolute  vacuum  has  been 
formed,  the  mercury  in  the  glass  will  stand  at  a  height  of  thirty 
inches. 

In  commercial  operations  a  vacuum  greater  than  twenty- 
eight  inches  is  seldom  required,  as  this  is  sufficient  for  all  prac- 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  31 

tical  purposes.  The  degree  of  vacuum  for  any  container  can  be 
varied  easily  by  mechanical  manipulation,  so  that  a  vacuum 
anywhere  from  one  to  twenty-eight  inches  may  be  maintained. 

CONCENTRATION  AND  CRYSTALLIZATION 

From  the  receiving  tanks  the  syrup  is  drawn  into  the  pans  by  a 
vacuum  ranging  between  twenty-five  and  twenty-seven  inches. 
The  pans  are  large  cast-iron  or  copper  cylinders,  standing  in  a 
vertical  position,  with  dome-like  tops  and  conical  bottoms, 
almost  spherical  in  shape.  Leading  from  the  top  is  a  large  pipe 
through  which  the  vapors  from  the  boiling  are  drawn  off  and 
condensed.  On  the  conical  bottom  is  a  large  valve,  which  may 
be  opened  when  the  boiling  is  finished  to  allow  the  massecuite 
(a  French  term  meaning  cooked  mass)  to  drop  out. 

At  regular  intervals  in  the  height  of  the  pan  there  is  a  series 
of  copper  coils,  connected  with  a  steam  line  at  one  end  and  a 
drain  line  at  the  other. 

The  general  principle  involved  in  boiling  sugar  is  the  separa- 
tion of  the  sucrose  contained  in  a  solution  from  the  impurities 
present  in  that  solution,  and  this  is  accomplished  by  evapora- 
tion and  concentration  through  the  agency  of  heat.  After  the 
sugar  is  once  formed  in  definite  crystals  these  crystals  attract 
and  appropriate  the  sucrose  in  solution  in  the  process  of  build- 
ing up  the  crystal  structure,  while  repelling  or  excluding  the 
impurities,  so  that,  as  a  consequence,  the  latter  remain  in  solu- 
tion. The  crystals  thus  formed  are  subsequently  removed  from 
the  solution  by  means  of  centrifugal  machines.  Crystallization, 
whether  in  a  pure  or  impure  solution,  will  proceed  to  only  a  cer- 
tain extent,  and  will  only  partially  remove  the  sucrose  from  the 
solution  in  one  boiling,  the  limit  of  crystallization  being  gov- 
erned by  the  amount  and  nature  of  impurities  present. 

The  process  of  boiling  is  begun  by  drawing  some  of  the  con- 
centrated juice  into  the  pan  and  turning  steam  into  the  coils, 


32  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

which  starts  the  boiling.  This  is  continued  until  the  supersat- 
uration  is  such  that  minute  crystals  of  sugar  form  or  "grain 
out/'  By  properly  timed  admissions  of  fresh  concentrated  juice, 
drawn  into  the  pan  by  vacuum  as  before,  the  crystals  grow  in 
size  and  at  last  the  pan  becomes  filled  with  a  mass  of  sugar  crys- 
tals of  regular  shape  and  size,  immersed  in  a  thick  "mother 
liquor"  containing  sugar  and  the  impurities  that  were  not  re- 
moved by  the  filters  or  settling  tanks. 

The  size  of  the  grain  may  be  varied  at  will  by  the  operator  in 
charge,  who  is  known  as  the  sugar  boiler.  After  the  grains  are 
once  formed,  their  number  (if  the  sugar  boiler  is  an  expert) 
does  not  increase,  but  the  size  does,  as  the  original  grain  con- 
tinually builds  up  on  itself  from  the  outside. 

The  question  may  be  asked,  why  is  all  the  moisture  not 
boiled  out  in  the  pan  and  the  sugar  dropped  in  a  dry,  crystal- 
lized state?  There  are  several  reasons  why  such  a  course  is  im- 
practicable; first,  because  the  impurities,  which  must  be  elimi- 
nated by  crystallization  and  which  are  carried  off  in  the  mother- 
liquor,  would  be  boiled  into  the  sugar  and  make  it  unsalable; 
second,  because  to  aid  crystallization  and  prevent  scorching  or 
burning  on  the  hot  steam  coils  the  mass  must  be  kept  in  active 
circulation  during  the  boiling  process,  or,  long  before  all  the 
moisture  could  be  driven  off,  a  large  part  of  the  contents  of  the 
pan  would  be  burned  on  the  coils ;  and  third,  even  if  it  were 
practicable  to  boil  the  contents  down  to  a  solid  state,  the  grains 
would  stick  to  each  other  and  become  one  solid  mass,  which 
would  have  to  be  removed  from  the  pan  with  bars,  picks  or  chis- 
els. Enough  moisture,  or  rather  liquor,  is  left  in  the  mass  to  en- 
able it  to  flow  from  the  pan  by  gravity.  This  liquor,  with  the  im- 
purities it  carries,  is  subsequently  removed  from  the  sugar  by  a 
drying  or  separating  process  which  will  be  explained  later  on. 

Massecuite  is  a  viscous,  sticky,  semi-fluid  mass  of  the  consist- 
ency of  half-formed  ice. 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  33 

The  reason  sugar  "grains"  is  because  the  water  in  the  juice 
has  the  power  to  hold,  in  solution  only  so  much  sugar.  As  it  goes 
into  the  pan,  the  juice  is  almost  a  saturated  solution,  and  as  the 
water  is  driven  off  by  evaporation,  the  solids  that  up  to  this 
point  have  been  in  solution  must  of  necessity  crystallize. 

When  the  sugar  boiler  decides  that  the  "strike,"  that  is,  the 
massecuite  contained  in  the  pan  at  one  boiling,  is  satisfactorily 
grained,  he  breaks  the  vacuum  by  opening  a  valve  on  the  top  of 
the  pan,  thus  allowing  the  air  to  enter.  He  then  opens  the  valve 
at  the  bottom  of  the  pan  and  the  mass  drops  into  a  long  tank 
with  a  rounded  bottom,  called  the  mixer,  in  which  a  shaft, 
equipped  with  paddles,  is  revolving.  The  paddles  are  for  the 
purpose  of  keeping  the  mass  agitated  and  in  an  even  condition. 
The  agitation  prevents  the  grains  from  dropping  to  the  bottom 
of  the  tank  and  forming  a  solid  block,  called  concrete. 

PREPARATION  OF  CRYSTALS  FOR  THE  MARKET 

From  the  mixer  the  massecuite  runs  through  spouts  into  the 
centrifugal  machines.  Centrifugal  machines  are  cylindrical- 
shaped,  perforated  brass  baskets,  usually  forty  inches  in  diam- 
eter and  twenty-four  inches  deep,  hung  on  a  central  shaft  sus- 
pended from  beams  overhead,  and  surrounded  by  a  solid  out- 
side curb  or  casing. 

On  the  shaft  is  a  pulley,  which  is  driven  by  a  belt  connected 
with  an  engine  or  an  electric  motor.  The  inside  of  the  basket  is 
lined  with  a  fine-meshed  brass  screen,  which  retains  the  grains 
of  sugar,  but  allows  the  liquor  to  escape  freely  into  the  outer 
casing. 

As  soon  as  the  centrifugal  machine  is  filled  with  massecuite 
from  the  mixer  above,  the  power  is  turned  on  and  the  machine 
begins  to  spin  around  at  an  increasing  speed  until  a  velocity  of 
one  thousand  revolutions  per  minute  is  reached.  The  centrifugal 
action  forces  practically  all  the  liquor  out  through  the  screen 


34  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

and  leaves  in  the  machine  all  the  grains  of  sugar  that  were 
formed  in  the  pan.  A  little  dry  steam  is  sometimes  turned  in  to 
assist  in  reducing  the  moisture  in  the  sugar. 

The  centrifugal  is  then  stopped,  a  valve  in  the  bottom  is 
opened,  and  the  nearly  dry  crystallized  raw  sugar  is  dropped 
into  bins.  From  the  bins  it  is  drawn  off  through  spouts  and 
packed  in  sacks  containing  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five 
pounds  each. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  raw  sugar  containing  a  large 
amount  of  moisture  inverts  or  deteriorates  more  rapidly  than 
that  with  a  low-moisture  content.  It  is  apparent  that  as  moist- 
ure adds  to  the  weight,  the  transportation  charges,  which  are 
based  on  tonnage,  are  greater  in  the  case  of  wet  sugar  than  in 
the  case  of  dry.  In  many  of  the  modern  mills,  therefore,  a  fur- 
ther treatment  is  given  the  sugar  to  reduce  loss  by  inversion 
and  lessen  freight  charges. 

From  the  bins  last  mentioned  the  sugar  is  dropped  into  re- 
volving drums  six  feet  in  diameter  and  twenty-six  feet  long,  set 
at  an  incline  so  that  as  the  drum  revolves  the  sugar  is  carried 
round  to  the  highest  point  on  the  circumference  of  the  drum 
and  dropped  to  the  lower  side,  at  the  same  time  traveling  from 
the  receiving  to  the  discharging  end.  The  shape,  motion  and  in- 
clined position  of  the  drum  cause  a  perfect  shower  of  sugar  in 
the  drum  for  its  entire  length  and  breadth.  While  it  is  revolv- 
ing a  current  of  hot,  dry  air  is  drawn  through  the  drum  by 
means  of  suction  fans,  and  as  a  result  the  moisture  in  the  sugar 
is  absorbed  by  the  air  and  carried  out  of  the  building.  At  this 
stage  the  product  has  a  good  hard  grain  of  a  yellowish-brown 
color;  contains  from  ninety-six  to  ninety-seven  per  cent  of  pure 
sugar  and  about  one-half  of  one  per  cent  of  moisture. 

From  the  end  of  the  revolving  drum  the  sugar  is  drawn  off 
into  sacks  holding  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds 
each.  These  sacks  are  sewed  by  machinery  and  put  into  railroad 


I  I 


THE  MANUFACTURE  OF  RAW  SUGAR  35 

cars  to  be  hauled  to  the  docks  at  the  shipping  port,  where  the 
cars  are  switched  under  huge  hoisting  cranes  or  alongside 
speedy  conveyors  which  carry  the  sugar  into  large  seagoing 
steamers  especially  built  for  the  trade.  Some  of  these  ships  have 
a  cargo  capacity  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  sacks, 
and  they  transport  the  sugar  to  the  buyers  on  the  mainland  in 
San  Francisco,  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  as  the  planter  di- 
rects. 

The  liquor  thrown  off  by  the  centrifugals  is  not  lost;  it  is 
taken  back  to  the  pans  and  reboiled.  After  this  has  been  done 
several  times  and  most  of  the  sugar  extracted,  the  purity  is  so 
low  and  the  sugar  content  so  small  that  it  does  not  pay  com- 
mercially to  reboil  further,  and  the  residue  is  sold  as  molasses. 
It  contains  about  thirty-five  per  cent  of  sugar  and  from  twelve 
to  fourteen  per  cent  of  invert  sugar,  or  glucose,  as  it  is  generally 
called. 

Some  of  the  waste  molasses  is  mixed  with  fodder  and  tender 
cane  tops  and  fed  to  cattle  and  plantation  stock,  the  sugar  con- 
tent proving  of  great  value  as  a  fattening  agent  and  energy 
builder.  Part  of  the  molasses  is  sprayed  on  the  bagasse  as  it 
leaves  the  crushers  and  serves,  first,  as  a  fuel  under  the  boilers, 
and,  second,  as  a  fertilizing  agent  in  the  form  of  ashes  after  it 
has  been  burned.  During  the  past  few  years  much  of  it  has  been 
shipped  in  tank  steamers  to  the  mainland,  where  it  is  used  for 
the  manufacture  of  spirits  and  vinegar,  and  also  as  the  principal 
ingredient  in  prepared  stock  foods  which  are  much  in  demand 
today. 

Every  bag  of  sugar  shipped  from  the  plantation  is  marked  to 
indicate  the  plantation  from  which  it  came.  The  net  weight  of 
the  sugar  in  each  bag  is  recorded,  a  sample  of  the  sugar  taken 
and  its  sucrose  content  ascertained,  for  it  is  on  the  basis  of 
weight  and  sucrose  content  that  raw  sugar  is  bought  and  sold. 

From  the  beginning  to  the  end  of  the  process  of  manufac- 


36  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

ture,  chemists  are  vigilantly  alert  sampling,  testing,  analyzing 
and  supervising  the  operations.  Records  are  made  of  all  analy- 
ses, temperatures,  purities,  densities,  extractions,  etc.,  and  the 
results  tabulated  for  future  reference. 

The  average  cost  in  Hawaii  of  preparing  the  fields,  planting, 
irrigating,  fertilizing,  cultivating  and  cutting  the  cane,  man- 
ufacturing the  sugar  and  delivering  it  in  the  New  York  market, 
is  about  $56.00  per  ton  of  two  thousand  pounds. 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  DELIVERY 
OF  RAW  SUGAR 

IT  HAS  been  explained  that  in  Hawaii  sugar  is  packed  in 
one-hundred-and-twenty-five-pound  sacks.  Methods  and 
customs  vary  in  different  countries.  For  instance,  in  Cuba  it 
is  put  up  in  large  gunny  bags,  each  holding  an  average  of  three 
hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  The  same  custom  prevails  in 
Porto  Rico.  In  Peru,  and  to  a  limited  extent  in  Java,  sacks  con- 
taining two  hundred  and  twenty-four  pounds  are  used.  A  large 
part  of  the  sugar  in  Java,  however,  is  put  up  in  bamboo  baskets 
of  native  make,  containing  from  five  hundred  to  eight  hundred 
pounds.  They  are  about  thirty  inches  in  diameter,  from  thirty- 
six  to  forty-eight  inches  high,  and  are  lined  with  coarse  leaves 
to  prevent  the  sugar  from  sifting  out  between  the  weavings  of 
the  bamboo.  Philippine  sugar  is  packed  in  leaf-lined  mats  of 
tough  vegetable  fiber,  each  holding  about  seventy  pounds. 

These  various  styles  of  containers  necessitate  different  meth- 
ods of  handling  to  and  from  the  ships  and  by  the  buyers,  but 
Hawaii  will  again  serve  as  an  example  of  efficient,  modern  prac- 
tice. Outside  of  what  is  consumed  locally,  all  Hawaiian  sugars 
are  shipped  to  the  mainland  of  the  United  States  by  steamers 
or  sailing  vessels  to  San  Francisco,  or  by  steamers  to  New  York 
or  Philadelphia,  via  the  Panama  canal. 

As  sailing  vessels  are  rapidly  disappearing  from  the  seas  so 
far  as  the  sugar  trade  is  concerned,  reference  will  be  made  to 
steamer  traffic  only.  The  steamers  are  specially  built  for  carry- 
ing sugar,  having  a  cargo  capacity  of  from  five  thousand  to 
thirteen  thousand  tons,  and  the  best  loading  and  discharging 
facilities. 


38  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

"'When  loading  in  Honolulu,  the  steamers  usually  lie  along- 
side wharves  covered  with  immense  warehouses,  where  rapid- 
speed  conveyors  carry  the  sacks  of  sugar  to  a  point  above  the 
ship's  hatches  and  drop  them  into  chutes  which  guide  them 
down  into  the  hold  of  the  ship,  where  they  are  compactly 
stowed.  On  the  off-shore  side  of  the  vessel  small  steamers  from 
other  island  ports  lie  alongside  and  hoist  the  sacks  by  means  of 
steam  winches  to  a  point  over  the  hatch  and  deposit  them  in 
similar  chutes.  When  steamers  are  loaded  from  both  sides  in 
this  manner,  as  much  as  three  thousand  tons,  or  forty-eight 
thousand  sacks,  can  be  loaded  in  nine  hours. 

0t 

After  a  vessel  is  completely  loaded  and  gets  her  clearance 
from  the  custom  house,  she  departs  for  San  Francisco,  twenty-^ 
one  hundred  miles  away,  or  for  the  Atlantic  seaboard,  via  Pan- 
ama, as  the  planter  may  direct. 

"  The  voyage  ended,  and  the  quarantine  and  health  regulations 
complied  with,  she  proceeds  to  the  dock  of  the  buyer,  usually  a 
sugar  refiner.  |The  Hawaiian  planter  invariably  sells  his  siigar 
under  contract  prior  to  arrival  of  the  vessel  at  destination. 

Planters  in  other  countries  operate  differently.  Occasionally 
sugar  is  sold  on  the  plantation  at  an  agreed  price,  and  the  buyer 
arranges  his  own  transportation.  The  planter  sometijnes  .ships 
his  sugar  unsold  and  negotiates  its  sale  while  it  is  en  route.  If 
so  sold,  it  is  delivered  directly  to  the  buyer  on  arrival;  if  not,  it 
must  be  stored  in  a  warehouse  at  the  planter's  expense  pending 
sale. 

~  The  practice  of  the  Hawaiian  planter  is  to  sell  his  sugar  to 
refineries  in  San  Francisco,  New  York  or  Philadelphia,  under 
contracts  extending  over  a  term  of  years.  It  is  agreed  that  the 
sugar  shall  be  shipped  as  soon  as  made  and  that  the  refiner  will 
receive  it  immediately  on  arrival,  the  price  for  each  cargo  being 
that  quoted  in  the  open  New  York  market  for  ninety-six-degree 
centrifugal  sugar  on  the  day  preceding  its  arrival. 


f  - 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  DELIVERY  OF  SUGAR       39 

The  value  of  raw  sugar,  like  that  of  other  staples,  is  based  on 
supply  and  demand,  and  the  price  fluctuates  from  day  to  day 
according  to  the  requirements  of  the  refiners  or  the  necessities 
of  the  sellers. 

There  are  certain  rules  or  trade  conditions  governing  all 
sales,  so  that  when  one  man  buys  and  another  sells  at  an  agreed 
price,  each  knows  what  he  is  bargaining  for.  For  instance,  raw 
sugar  is  bought  on  the  ninety-six-degree  centrifugal  basis,  that 
is,  the  price  agreed  to  be  paid  is  for  centrifugal  sugar  contain- 
ing ninety-six  per  cent  of  sucrose.  If  it  contains  more  sucrose, 
a  higher  price  is  paid;  if  it  contains  less,  a  lower  price  is  paid; 
all  according  to  an  established  scale  of  additions  and  deduc- 
tions. Then  again,  the  time  of  payment  for  the  sugar  is  well  un- 
derstood. It  is  usually  ten  days  after  the  sugar  has  been  finally 
discharged  from  the  ship,  as  this  allows  a  sufficient  period  in 
which  to  determine  the  exact  weight  of  the  sugar  and  the  per- 
centage of  sucrose  it  contains.  An  instrument  called  a  polari- 
scope  is  invariably  employed  to  determine  the  amount  of 
sucrose  present  and  the  results  obtained  from  its  use  are  abso- 
lutely accurate.  A  description  of  the  operation  will  undoubtedly 
prove  interesting. 

POLARIZATION 

The  practical  working  of  the  polariscope  is  based  upon  the 
property  of  sucrose  to  rotate  a  ray  of  polarized  light  to  the 
right. 

Ordinary  light  is  the  effect  on  the  eye  of  vibrations  of  the 
ether.  These  vibrations  occur  in  all  directions,  but  by  certain 
optical  devices  they  may  be  confined  to  a  single  plane,  and  light 
thus  confined  is  called  polarized.  If  rays  of  polarized  light  pass 
through  a  layer  of  certain  bodies,  e.  g.f  quartz,  sugar  and  many 
others,  the  plane  in  which  the  vibrations  occur  is  rotated,  and 
the  polariscope  has  been  devised  for  the  purpose  of  measuring 
the  rotation  of  the  plane  of  polarization. 


40  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

Polarized  light,  as  used  in  the  polariscope,  is  obtained  from 
the  Nicol  prism  or  some  development  of  it.  Ordinary  light  pass- 
ing through  crystals  of  certain  bodies,  of  which  Iceland  spar  is 
an  example,  is  split  into  two  rays,  one  of  which  is  known  as  the 
ordinary  and  the  other  as  the  extraordinary  ray.  A  Nicol  prism 
is  made  of  two  wedge-shaped  pieces  of  Iceland  spar,  cemented 
together  with  a  film  of  Canada  balsam. 

The  accompanying  sketch  gives  a  good  idea  of  the  arrange- 
ment of  an  ordinary  polariscope. 


POLARISCOPE 


f      f 


A  strong  white  light,  e,  enters  the  instrument  through  a  lens  at 
/,  to  the  Nicol  prism  b,  by  which  it  is  polarized.  The  ordinary 
ray  is  dispersed,  while  the  extraordinary  or  polarized  ray  passes 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  DELIVERY  OF  SUGAR       41 

straight  through  and  enters  the  sugar  solution  contained  in  the 
tube  c,  which  has  glass  ends.  In  passing  through  this  solution  it 
is  given  a  rotary  motion  to  the  right  or  to  the  left,  according  as 
the  sugar  in  the  solution  is  sucrose  or  levulose.  When  it  emerges 
from  the  tube  containing  the  sugar  solution,  the  now  rotated 
polarized  ray  encounters  a  second  Nicol  prism,  of  which  one  of 
the  wedges  is  fixed  and  the  other  movable.  This  prism  is  called 
the  analyzer.  A  pointer,  controlled  by  a  thumb  screw,  is  at- 
tached to  it, and  when  the  correction  of  the  polarized  ray's  rota- 
tion has  been  made  with  precision  by  adjustment  of  the  wedges, 
the  pointer  will  indicate  directly  and  accurately  on  a  scale  the 
amount  of  sucrose  in  the  solution  under  test,  because  the  polar- 
ized ray  was  rotated  in  exact  proportion  to  the  amount  of  su- 
crose contained  in  the  solution  through  which  it  passed. 

The  polariscope  is  made  and  set  so  that  a  standard  weight  of 
pure  sugar  (Ci2H22Oii),  dissolved  in  a  standard  quantity  of 
pure  water,  and  placed  in  a  tube  of  given  length,  will  rotate 
the  ray  of  polarized  light  in  passing  through,  to  a  point  on  the 
scale  marked  one  hundred  degrees,  the  equivalent  of  per  cent. 
Also,  that  by  using  the  same  quantity  of  water,  but  twenty-five 
per  cent,  fifty  per  cent,  or  seventy-five  per  cent  less  weight  of 
sugar,  the  rotation  will  show  seventy-five  degrees,  fifty  degrees 
or  twenty-five  degrees  of  pure  sugar,  as  the  case  may  be. 

A  sample  is  drawn  from  each  bag  of  sugar  and  all  of  these  go 
to  make  up  a  general  average  sample.  The  standard  quantity  is 
carefully  weighed,  dissolved  with  the  standard  amount  of  wa- 
ter, clarified,  filtered  and  poured  into  a  tube  with  glass  ends, 
which  is  then  inserted  in  the  polariscope  between  the  eye  of  the 
operator  and  a  strong  artificial  light.  When  the  operator  mak- 
ing the  test  applies  his  eye  to  the  instrument,  he  sees  a  distinct 
shadow  on  a  lens  in  the  line  of  vision,  one  side  being  light  and 
the  other  dark.  He  then  turns  the  thumb  screw  which  adjusts 
the  analyzer  until  the  whole  field  of  vision  is  neutral,  which  in- 


42  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

dicates  that  the  rotation  of  the  polarized  ray  has  been  correct- 
ed. The  pointer  on  the  scale  now  shows  the  exact  percentage 
of  sucrose  present  in  the  raw  sugar,  ninety-four,  ninety-five, 
ninety-six  degrees,  or  whatever  it  may  be.  This  test  determines 
the  real  value  of  the  sugar,  based  on  the  market  quotation  for 
ninety-six-degree  sugar.  If  the  polarization  should  show  ex- 
actly ninety-six  degrees,  the  price  to  be  paid  for  the  sugar  and 
the  market  quotation  will  be  identical. 

^In  most  sugar-producing  countries  the  government  imposes 
an  import  tax  on  all  foreign  sugars,  in  order  to  obtain  revenue 
to  defray  governmental  expenses  and  to  protect  the  domestic 
industry,  if  any,  against  competition  with  other  countries  in 
which  cost  of  materials  and  labor  may  be  lower.  Commodities 
produced  in  a  country  naturally  add  to  its  development  and 
wealth,  and  this  explains  the  fostering  of  the  sugar  industry  by 
various  governments. 

The  United  States  duty  on  foreign  sugar  is  at  present  $1.256 
per  one  hundred  pounds  of  ninety-six-degree  raw  sugar.  On 
account  of  our  treaties  with  Cuba,  the  Cuban  planter  is  allowed 
a  deduction  of  twenty  per  cent,  and,  therefore,  pays  a  duty  of 
$1.0048  per  hundred  pounds,  which,  owing  to  trade  conditions, 
is  the  duty  effective  today  in  the  United  States. 

Sugars  produced  in  the  insular  possessions,  Porto  Rico  and 
the  Philippine  islands,  are  admitted  free  of  duty. 
^In  1898,  the  Hawaiian  islands,  through  annexation,  became 
a  part  of  the  United  States,  consequently  no  duty  is  assessed  on 
sugar  or  any  other  Hawaiian  product. 

Every  vessel  coming  into  a  port  of  the  United  States  must  be 
entered  at  the  custom  house,  where  a  record  is  kept  of  the  port 
whence  she  came  and  of  what  her  cargo  consists.  If  from  a 
domestic  port,  she  is  permitted  to  discharge  her  cargo  without 
delay;  if  from  a  foreign  one,  customs  officials  are  immediately 
sent  on  board  to  watch  the  cargo  as  it  is  discharged  and  super- 


TRANSPORTATION  AND  DELIVERY  OF  SUGAR       43 

vise  the  tallying,  checking  or  weighing,  according  to  the  class  of 
merchandise.  Besides  being  weighed,  sugar  is  carefully  sampled 
and  the  percentage  of  sucrose  ascertained  by  the  polariscope, 
for  the  customs  duty  is  based  upon  the  purity  of  the  sugar,  all 
raws  testing  not  above  seventy-five  degrees  polarization  paying 
.71  cent  per  pound  and  .026  cent  per  pound  for  each  additional 
degree.  This  is  equivalent  to  1.256  cents  per  pound  for  ninety- 
six-degree  sugar. 

The  people  of  the  United  States  used  4,257,714  short  tons  of 
sugar  in  the  year  1915.  It  was  nearly  all  produced  within  the 
United  States  or  in  countries  enjoying  tariff  concessions,  as 
follows : 

SHORT  TONS 

Hawaiian  islands         (Cane)  570,375,  U.  S.  territory. 

Louisiana                     (Cane)  251,740,  U.  S.  territory. 

Domestic  production  (Beet)  861,568,  U.  S.  territory. 

(Maple)  17,248,  U.S.  territory. 

Porto  Rico                   (Cane)  336,347*  insular  possession. 

Philippine  islands        (Cane)  134,626,  insular  possession. 

Cuba                             (Cane)  2,062,594,  reciprocity  treaty. 

Foreign  sugar              (Cane)  23,216,  full  duty-paying. 

4,257,714 

"^VAside  from  the  small  amount  of  full-duty-paying  foreign 
sugar  imported,  the  only  sugar  in  the  above  list  that  paid  duty 
came  from  Cuba.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  under  ordinary 
conditions  an  increase  in  the  crops  of  any  of  the  places  men- 
tioned would  result  in  a  surplus  of  sugar  in  the  American  mar- 
ket. In  1916,  with  the  beet  production  of  Continental  Europe 
locked  up  by  the  war,  Cuba's  increased  output  has  been  ab- 
sorbed by  Great  Britain,  France,  Italy  and  Greece. 

Steamers  from  Hawaiian  ports,  after  arriving  and  entering 
at  the  custom  house  and  passing  quarantine  and  health  officers, 
proceed  immediately  to  refinery  docks  to  discharge  cargo. 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR 

CANE-SUGAR  refineries  are  always  located  in  great  sea- 
port towns  for  the  reason  that,  as  practically  all  cane 
sugar  is  grown  in  the  tropics,  it  must  be  transported  by 
water  to  the  world's  markets. 

The  refining  operation  is  by  no  means  as  simple  as  may  at 
first  appear.  It  is  essential  that  the  finished  product  be  almost 
chemically  pure  (99.8  per  cent),  and  the  greatest  care  must  be 
exercised  to  obtain  a  perfectly  white  color,  as  well  as  a  hard, 
lustrous  grain. 

The  question  naturally  arises,  why  do  not  the  planters  of  Ha- 
waii, Cuba,  Java  and  other  raw-sugar-producing  countries  carry 
their  process  a  few  steps  further  and  make  a  pure  white  sugar 
as  the  refiners  do?  This  has  been  attempted  many  times,  but 
has  almost  always  been  found  impracticable,  notwithstanding 
the  fact  that  there  is  no  mechanical  or  chemical  reason  why. 

Among  the  arguments  in  favor  of  a  mainland  seaport  site, 
the  following  may  be  mentioned : 

i.  The  producing  centers  are  generally  far  distant  from  con- 
suming markets.  Refineries  located  in  the  tropics  would  be  un- 
der unusual  expense  for  transporting  and  selling  the  refined  ar- 
ticle. 

_  j2f.  A  refinery  in  the  tropics  would  be  out  of  direct  and  prompt 
touch  with  the  individual  requirements  of  the  buyers. 

3.  Refined  sugar  should  be  moved  and  sold  as  soon  as  possi- 
ble after  its  manufacture,  so  there  follows  the  necessity  for  ad- 
equate dock  and  rail  facilities  as  means  of  quick  communication 
with  the  market. 

4.  An  abundant  supply  of  pure,  soft  water  for  refining  pur- 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  45 

poses,  and  salt  or  fresh  water  for  condensing,  as  well  as  fuel  for 
the  generating  of  steam,  must  be  readily  available.  Another 
most  important  requisite  is  skilled  labor,  which  is  more  easily 
obtained  in  populous  seaport  cities  than  in  the  small,  isolated 
towns  of  the  tropics. 

5.  There  are  many  commodities  used  in  the  refining  of  sugar 
and  in  packing  it  for  shipment  that  can  be  purchased  more  ad- 
vantageously, both  as  regards  price  and  promptness  of  delivery, 
in  the  great  commercial  ports  than  in  the  sugar-growing  dis- 
tricts. Among  these  are  bone-char,  lime,  acids,  cotton  filter- 
bags,  burlap,  cotton  cloth,  boxes,  barrels,  cartons,  iron,  steel 
and  machinery  of  all  kinds. 

6.  A  sugar  refinery  is  operated  the  entire  twelve  months  of 
the  year,  while  a  raw-sugar  mill  must  of  necessity  take  care  of 
the  crop  of  cane  in  about  eight  months.  To  refine  sugar  where 
it  is  grown  would  require  refining  machinery  capable  of  han- 
dling the  entire  output  in  the  eight-month  period,  and  during 
the  remaining  four  months  the  plant  would  remain  idle.  This 
would  mean  a  larger  investment  proportionately  than  that 
made  in  a  refinery  in  a  consuming  center,  running  steadily  the 
year  round. 

7.  Refined  sugar  very  rapidly  absorbs  moisture,  and  while  in 
transit  from  the  tropic  to  the  temperate  zone  it  is  very  apt  to 
become  lumpy  or  caked,  which  would  involve  reprocessing  at 
great  expense  at  the  point  of  consumption.  The  unavoidable 
damage  to  the  packages  in  loading  and  discharging  results  in 
heavy  expense,  as  all  packages  must  be  delivered  to  the  buyer 
in  first-class   condition.   To  avoid  hardening,   refined  sugar 
should  never  be  piled  very  high,  and  it  is  an  unsolved  problem 
whether  refined  sugar  will  stand  long  ocean  transportation  in 
cargo  lots  without  caking  and  damage  by  breaking  of  the  in- 
side cotton  sacks.  If  shipped  in  barrels,  the  freight  rate  is  pro- 
portionately higher. 


46  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

8.  Larger  capital  would  also  be  required,  as  refined  sugar 
must  be  carried  on  hand  and  must  await  the  consumer's  de- 
mand, while  raw  sugar  generally  has  a  prompt  and  ready  mar- 
ket and  can  be  quickly  converted  into  cash. 

With  these  difficulties  presenting  themselves  to  a  prospective 
sugar  refiner  in  a  raw-sugar-producing  country,  the  shipping  of 
raw  sugar  to  refineries  at  great  distances  does  not  seem  at  all 
unreasonable. 

Raw  sugars  show  considerable  variance  in  their  component 
parts,  and  so  it  follows  that  some  are  less  easily  refined  than 
others.  Such  differences  are  generally  due  to  diverse  methods  of 
culture,  amount  of  fertilizer  used,  the  processes  of  manufacture 
and  the  efficiency  of  extraction.  If  the  extraction  be  high,  a 
large  percentage  of  the  salts  in  the  cane  is  taken  up,  and  these 
salts  prevent  or  retard  the  complete  crystallization  of  the  pure 
sugar  in  refining.  One  part  of  ash  prevents  several  times  its 
own  weight  of  sugar  from  crystallizing,  hence  it  is  readily  seen 
that  raw  sugars  with  a  low  ash  content  are  preferred  by  refin- 
ers. 

Sugar  refining  is  the  production  of  pure  white  sugar  in  gran- 
ular form,  after  the  removal  of  the  impurities  from  the  raw 
product.  Nine  operations  are  necessary  to  bring  about  this  re- 
sult: 

1.  Washing: 

Removal  of  superfluous  impurities. 

2.  Melting: 

Changing  the  solid  raw  sugar  into  liquid  form  by  melt- 
ing with  water. 

3.  Defecation: 

Precipitation  of  suspended  and  insoluble  impurities. 

4.  Bag  and  Bone-char  Filtration: 

Removal  of  suspended  impurities,  color  and  soluble  im- 
purities. 


mm 

^••J3"l»"» 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  47 

5.  Crystallization: 

Production  of  crystals  by  concentration. 

6.  Partial  Drying: 

Purging  crystals  from  syrup  in  centrifugals. 

7.  Final  Drying: 

The  driving  off  of  all  remaining  moisture. 

8.  Sorting  of  Crystals: 

Sorting  of  grains  according  to  size  to  meet  market  de- 
mands. 

9.  Packing: 

Putting  in  various  forms  of  containers. 

A  refinery  consists  of  a  group  of  buildings,  each  of  which  has 
been  constructed  for  a  special  purpose  and  for  convenience  and 
economy  in  operation.  They  are  as  follows: 

1.  The  melt  or  wash  house. 

2.  The  char  house. 

3.  The  pan  house. 

4.  The  packing  house. 

5.  The  boiler  house. 

6.  The  pump  and  power  house. 

In  addition  there  are  offices,  shops,  laboratories,  and  last,  but 
by  no  means  least,  very  extensive  warehouses. 

To  begin  at  the  beginning  it  will  be  necessary  to  start  with 
the  steamer  laden  with  raw  sugar  and  made  fast  to  the  wharf 
in  front  of  the  warehouse  that  forms  part  of  the  refining  plant. 

The  sugar  is  hoisted  out  of  the  ships  in  sling-loads  by  power- 
ful winches,  and  landed  on  a  platform  on  the  dock  alongside  the 
ship.  Each  sling-load  consists  of  from  twelve  to  twenty  sacks, 
or  the  equivalent  weight  in  baskets  or  mats,  as  the  case  may  be. 
As  soon  as  the  sacks  are  landed,  they  are  sorted  according  to 
mark,  put  on  trucks  to  be  run  over  a  scale  set  in  the  floor,  and 
their  gross  weight  recorded. 

As  the  truck  leaves  the  scale, the  samplers  take  a  sample  from 


48  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

each  sack.  This  is  done  with  a  tryer,  a  long,  hollow  steel  tube, 
open  on  one  side  and  sharp  at  one  end,  with  a  handle  on  the 
other  for  the  sampler  to  grasp  when  forcing  the  tryer  into  the 
sack.  The  individual  sample  from  each  sack  of  each  different 
mark  is  deposited  in  large  closed  cans  until  the  cargo  is  com- 
pletely discharged,  when  an  average  sample  of  all  the  individ- 
ual samples  of  each  mark  is  made  up  and  used  in  the  laboratory 
to  determine  the  polarization  or  sucrose  content  of  the  various 
lots  comprising  the  entire  cargo.  The  value  of  the  sugar  is  fixed 
by  this  polarization. 

The  weights  of  the  various  truck-loads  of  sugar  passing  over 
the  scales  are  totaled  and  the  weight  of  the  sacks,  baskets  or 
mats  deducted,  giving  the  net  weight  of  the  sugar. 

Hawaiian  sacks  weigh  exactly  one  pound ;  Cuban,  Javan  and 
Peruvian  sacks  about  three  and  one-half  pounds.  Javan  baskets 
weigh  from  twelve  to  fifteen  pounds,  and  Philippine  mats  about 
four  pounds. 

In  order  to  facilitate  the  weighing  and  simplify  the  calcula- 
tions, in  cases  where  the  exact  weight  of  the  sacks  is  known, 
every  truck  is  made  to  weigh  the  same  by  ascertaining  the 
weight  of  the  heaviest  and  then  putting  small  iron  nuts  or 
washers  on  the  rods  of  the  other  trucks  until  each  of  them  ex- 
actly counterbalances  the  heaviest.  One  truck  is  then  placed  on 
the  scale  and  the  scale  is  brought  to  a  perfect  balance,  just  as 
though  there  were  no  truck  on  it.  In  this  way  the  weight  of  the 
truck  is  never  recorded,  which  greatly  simplifies  the  entire 
weighing  operation. 

One  crew  of  men  will  discharge  from  1300  to  1500  sacks  of 
sugar  per  hour  from  each  hatch  of  a  steamer,  or  a  minimum  of 
731  tons  per  day  of  nine  hours.  As  three  hatches  are  usually 
worked  at  the  same  time,  it  will  be  seen  that  from  2200  to  2500 
short  tons  are  taken  out  every  day. 

From  the  scales  the  sugar  is  deposited  on  a  depressed  con- 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  49 

veyor  in  the  floor  and  carried  directly  into  the  melt  house  of  the 
refinery,  except  the  sugar  that  must  of  necessity  be  stored  in 
the  warehouse  for  future  use,  in  which  case  it  is  dumped  from 
the  trucks  on  piling  machines  that  elevate  it  to  any  height  de- 
sired, and  it  is  arranged  neatly  and  compactly  by  the  piling 
crew. 

The  wharves  and  docks  of  a  sugar  refinery  are,  as  a  rule, 
scenes  of  unusual  activity  and  interest.  Besides  the  large  num- 
ber of  men  engaged  in  hoisting,  trucking,  weighing,  sampling 
and  piling  the  sugar,  there  are  the  sailors,  whose  calling  always 
possesses  a  certain  fascination  for  the  landsman.  A  motley 
crew  they  are,  bronzed  by  wind  and  sun,  gathered  from  all 
countries  and  climes.  There  is  the  simple,  kindly  native  of  Ha- 
waii, gentle-eyed,  soft  of  speech  and  born  with  a  love  for  the 
sea;  he  prides  himself  upon  his  skill  in  swimming  and  diving, 
and  when  the  day's  work  is  done,  entertains  his  shipmates  by 
singing  the  plaintive  melodies  of  his  native  land,  accompany- 
ing himself  on  the  ukulele,  the  stringed  instrument  of  the  South 
Seas.  Should  there  be  a  number  of  his  fellow  islanders  among 
the  crew,  the  evening's  program  is  almost  certain  to  be  varied 
by  the  native  hula  hula  dance,  which  generally  brings  marked 
applause  from  the  onlookers.  Presiding  over  the  galley,  or 
ship's  kitchen,  is  the  ajmond-eyed^hjnaman,  now  shorn  of  his 
queue ;  an  excellent  cook  who  loves^gamble  after  his  pots  and 
pans  are  washed  and  put  away  in  place ;  a  shrewd  gamester,  but 
scrupulously  honest.  Beside  him  stands  a  fierce-looking  Malay, 
sullen,  morose  and  taciturn,  whose  sharp,  white  teeth  carry  a 
sinister  suggestion  of  the  good  old  days  of  cannibalism.  His 
neighbor  is  a  Filipino,  short  in  stature,  keen-eyed  and  alert, 
while  in  the  background  are  one  or  two  individuals  who  from 
their  appearance  might  be  direct  descendants  of  the  buccaneers 
who  ravaged  the  Spanish  Main  in  Sir  Henry  Morgan's  time. 

The  average  sailor  is  fond  of  pets,  and  here  there  is  no  lack  of 


So  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

them,  parrots  and  monkeys  for  the  most  part,  and  the  sayings 
of  the  former  clearly  indicate  a  total  absence  of  Sunday-school 
training. 

Sugar  ships  bring  rare  fruits  and  vegetables  from  the  trop- 
ics, and  the  employes  of  the  refinery  have  plenty  of  opportuni- 
ties to  enjoy  such  luxuries  as  fresh  pineapples,  bananas,  guavas, 
papaias,  alligator  pears,  breadfruit  and  mangoes. 

A  visit  to  the  docks  of  a  sugar  refinery  during  the  time  ves- 
sels from  foreign  ports  are  lying  there  is  well  worth  while,  al- 
though in  these  days  of  steam,  the  picturesque  features  are  not 
so  pronounced  as  they  were  before  the  passing  of  the  sailing 
vessel. 

WASHING 
REMOVAL  OF  SUPERFICIAL  IMPURITIES 

As  a  starting  point  in  the  refining  process  the  melt  house  will 
be  first  considered.  It  is  so  called  because  it  is  there  that  the 
raw  sugar  enters  the  refining  process  by  being  melted  or  dis- 
solved in  water. 

The  conveyor,  upon  which  the  bags  were  deposited  in  the 
warehouse,  delivers  them  on  a  platform  on  the  top  floor  of  the 
building.  As  they  come  to  this  platform  from  the  conveyor, 
workmen  with  keen-edged  knives  seize  them  and,  with  a  deft, 
swift  slash,  cut  the  twine  sewing  at  the  top  of  the  bag  without 
injuring  the  burlap  fabric.  The  bag  is  then  pulled  off  the  plat- 
form, mouth  downward,  so  that  the  sugar  falls  out  and  passes 
through  an  iron  grating  into  a  large  bin  beneath.  If  the  sugar 
should  happen  to  be  caked  or  lumpy,  it  is  sent  through  crush- 
ers and  broken  up. 

As  a  certain  amount  of  sugar  adheres  to  the  inside  of  the 
bags,  they  are  washed  in  large  revolving  machines  and  in  this 
operation  the  sugar  dissolves  in  the  water  (called  sweet  wa- 
ter), from  which  it  is  extracted  later.  They  are  then  partially 
dried  in  centrifugal  machines  and  hung  on  hooks  on  a  travel- 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  51 

ing  chain  conveyor  that  passes  through  the  upper  part  of  the 
boiler  house,  where  the  waste  heat  thoroughly  dries  them.  In 
returning,  the  conveyor  passes  through  the  bag  room  and,  by 
means  of  an  automatic  device,  the  bags  are  dropped  alongside 
the  printing  presses.  Here  the  name  of  the  refinery,  the  kind  of 
sugar  and  the  net  weight  they  are  to  contain  are  printed  upon 
them.  These  burlap  bags  are  then  lined  with  a  white  cotton 
bag,  after  which  they  are  made  into  bundles  and  sent  to  the 
packing  room  to  be  filled  with  sugar.  It  will  be  seen,  therefore, 
that  the  bags  from  Hawaii  in  which  the  raw  sugar  is  received 
are  put  to  good  use.  This,  however,  does  not  apply  to  those  that 
come  from  Cuba  or  Java;  they  are  too  large  to  serve  as  con- 
tainers for  the  refined  product,  and  after  being  washed  and 
dried  are  sold  for  what  they  will  bring.  . 

The  white  cotton  bags  are  made  at  the  refinery,  and  a  plant 
turning  out  one  thousand  tons  of  sugar  each  twenty-four  hours 
will  use  twenty-five  thousand  yards  of  cotton  sheeting  per  day 
if  all  the  output  is  packed  in  one-hundred-pound  bags. 

The  bin  into  which  the  raw  sugar  is  dumped  holds  enough 
sugar  to  keep  the  refinery  supplied  during  the  twenty-four  hours 
run,  but  the  entire  quantity  is  "cut  in"  during  the  day.  The  ad- 
vantages of  this  arrangement  are  that  it  avoids  any  delay  in  op- 
eration due  to  mechanical  troubles  with  conveyors  and  because 
more  efficient  work  is  accomplished  during  the  daylight  hours. 
The  employes  prefer  to  work  on  the  day  shift  and,  wherever 
possible,  night  work  is  avoided. 

From  the  bottom  of  the  bin  the  sugar  falls  into  a  mixing 
machine,  called  the  mingler.  This  is  an  oblong  tank  with  a  semi- 
cylindrical  bottom,  near  which  is  a  revolving  horizontal  shaft, 
with  arms  or  paddles  attached  which  thoroughly  stir  and  mix 
the  sugar  with  syrup  that  is  added  at  this  point.  The  reason  for 
using  syrup  instead  of  water  is  that  the  former,  being  a  satu- 
rated sugar  solution,  does  not  melt  the  sugar  as  water  would. 


52  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

The  resultant  mixture,  called  magma,  looks  a  good  deal  like 
a  soft,  brown  mortar.  It  is,  in  fact,  raw-sugar  crystals  swim- 
ming in  syrup.  This  consistency  is  needed  to  allow  the  magma 
to  work  freely  in  the  centrifugals,  the  next  operation.  Most  of 
the  impurities  contained  in  raw  sugar  are  superficial,  that  is, 
adhering  to  the  outside  of  the  grain.  They  may  be  more  or  less 
readily  removed  by  washing  the  surfaces  of  the  crystals  with 
water. 

From  the  mingler  the  magma  drops  to  the  floor  below  into 
centrifugal  machines  running  at  the  rate  of  noo  revolutions 
per  minute.  A  "charge"  consists  of  about  nine  hundred  pounds 
of  magma.  As  the  machine  fills,  the  centrifugal  force  causes  the 
magma  to  rise  in  a  vertical  wall  around  the  inside  circumfer- 
ence of  the  basket,  at  the  same  time  throwing  off  the  syrup  that 
was  added  on  the  floor  above,  and  leaving  in  the  machine  about 
five  hundred  pounds  of  the  raw  sugar  as  it  came  from  the  plan- 
tation. Water  is  then  sprayed  into  the  machine  under  high 
pressure,  through  a  nozzle  which  divides  it  into  very  fine  parti- 
cles and  throws  it  against  the  wall  of  sugar  in  the  machine.  The 
water,  passing  through  the  sugar  by  the  centrifugal  force, 
washes  each  face  of  each  crystal  and  carries  off  the  impurities, 
together  with  a  certain  amount  of  sugar.  The  quantity  of  water 
used  per  machine  in  each  filling  is  from  one  to  two  and  a  half 
gallons,  depending  upon  the  quality  of  the  sugar. 

This  water,  now  a  syrup,  with  the  impurities  and  sugar  it 
contains,  is  drawn  from  the  machine,  part  of  it  being  pumped  to 
the  floor  above  to  mix  with  new  raw  sugar  coming  in.  The  re- 
mainder is  treated,  filtered,  boiled  and  made  into  raw  sugar, 
which,  in  turn,  goes  direct  to  the  melt  or  through  the  washing 
process  again.  The  result  of  this  washing  is  that  the  purity  of 
Hawaiian  raw  sugar  is  raised  from  about  97.2  to  99.2  per  cent, 
and  there  now  remains  but  0.8  per  cent  of  impurities  to  be  re- 
moved. 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  53 

The  washed  sugar  is  dropped  from  the  centrifugal  basket 
through  a  large  opening  in  the  bottom  of  the  machine  with  the 
aid  of  a  mechanical  device  called  a  discharger,  which  greatly 
reduces  the  manual  labor. 

Until  very  recently  the  sugar  was  discharged  from  the  cen- 
trifugals by  hand,  the  men  digging  it  out  with  wooden  paddles 
in  a  difficult,  laborious  way.  One  day,  a  few  years  ago,  a  clear- 
brained,  observant  American  lad  working  in  a  beet-sugar  fac- 
tory, conceived  the  idea  that  a  centrifugal  could  be  emptied  by 
mechanical  means.  He  worked  long  and  assiduously  upon  the 
problem,  and  after  much  experimenting  and  many  trials  and 
disappointments  was  granted  a  patent  by  the  United  States 
government.  Full  of  hope  and  confidence,  he  had  several  ma- 
chines constructed  and  took  them  to  a  sugar  refiner,  sure  of  be- 
ing favorably  received.  He  met  with  rebuff  and  ridicule.  The 
refinery  engineer  was  too  busy  with  other  matters  to  examine 
or  give  any  attention  to  the  appliance.  The  next  man  to  whom 
he  presented  it  was  even  more  indifferent  than  the  first;  he 
coldly  informed  the  patentee  that  he  had  been  in  the  sugar  busi- 
ness for  thirty  years,  that  no  such  machine  would  work,  and 
that  the  only  way  to  take  sugar  out  of  a  centrifugal  was  by 
hand. 

After  months  of  effort  and  repeated  failures,  he  induced  the 
superintendent  of  a  beet-sugar  factory  to  allow  him  to  install 
and  test  the  device  at  his  own  expense.  It  was  thrown  out  after 
a  few  days'  trial,  and  the  inventor  became  well-nigh  desperate, 
although  still  positive  as  to  the  merits  of  his  discharger. 

Finally  he  succeeded  in  gaining  the  ear  of  the  manager  of  a 
large  refinery,  who,  after  listening  attentively  to  his  earnest 
argument,  at  length  became  convinced  by  it.  As  a  result  of  the 
interview,  it  was  arranged  between  them  that  the  machines 
rejected  by  the  beet-sugar  factory  should  be  installed  in  the  re- 
finery and  operated  for  a  period  of  thirty  days,  under  the  direct 


54  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

supervision  of  the  inventor.  The  test  was  successful  in  every 
particular  and  conclusively  proved  the  efficiency  of  the  dis- 
charger. 

The  refiner  was  gratified  because  on  account  of  the  saving  in 
time  the  capacity  of  the  centrifugals  was  materially  increased; 
the  men  operating  the  centrifugals  were  hugely  pleased,  as  the 
arduous  work  of  emptying  by  hand  was  entirely  eliminated, 
and  the  inventor  was  happy,  for  he  had  vindicated  himself. 

An  order  for  a  large  number  of  the  machines  was  placed  at 
once  and  every  centrifugal  in  the  refinery  was  equipped  with 
one.  Today  they  are  installed  in  nearly  every  refinery  and  fac- 
tory in  the  United  States,  and  in  many  raw-sugar  plantation 
mills  as  well. 

MELTING 
CHANGING  THE  SOLID  RAW  SUGAR  INTO  LIQUID  FORM 

From  the  centrifugals  the  washed  sugar  drops  to  the  melter 
pan  on  the  floor  below.  This  is  a  cylindrical  tank  in  the  center 
of  which  is  a  revolving  vertical  shaft,  to  which  are  attached  hor- 
izontal paddles  that  serve  to  facilitate  the  dissolving  of  the 
sugar  with  the  hot  water  that  is  now  added.  Only  enough  water 
is  added  to  bring  the  resultant  liquor  to  a  density  of  58.6  per 
cent  of  solid  matter. 

The  raw  sugar  having  been  washed  and,  to  use  a  technical 
term,  melted,  leaves  the  melt  house  at  this  point. 

DEFECATION 

PRECIPITATION  OF  SUSPENDED  AND  INSOLUBLE  IMPURITIES 

From  the  "melt"  the  liquor  is  pumped  to  the  top  floor  of  the 
char  house,  which  is  usually  a  structure  of  from  twelve  to  four- 
teen stories  high.  The  reason  for  building  to  such  a  height  is 
the  advantage  gained  by  utilizing  the  force  of  gravity  and  by 
this  means  handling  the  liquors  and  bone-char  from  floor  to 
floor  without  mechanical  aid. 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  55 

The  liquor  is  delivered  into  a  number  of  cylindrical  tanks 
equipped  with  a  coil  of  pipe  through  which  steam  is  passed  for 
heating  the  liquor,  each  tank  being  capable  of  holding  25,000 
pounds  of  liquor.  Around  the  bottoms  of  the  tanks  are  perfor- 
ated pipes  through  which  compressed  air  is  forced  to  agitate 
and  thoroughly  mix  the  solution.  On  account  of  this  air  being 
blown  in,  these  tanks  are  called  blow-ups.  By  means  of  the 
steam  coil  the  temperature  of  the  liquor  is  kept  at  190  degrees, 
which  makes  it  less  viscous  than  cold  liquor,  thus  facilitating 
subsequent  filtration  and  hastening  the  reaction  of  the  lime  and 
acid  added  at  this  point. 

As  the  liquor  comes  into  the  blow-ups  it  varies  in  color  from 
a  straw  yellow  to  a  dark  brown,  and  contains  a  considerable 
amount  of  suspended  and  insoluble  impurities  which  must  be 
removed.  Some  of  these  impurities  are  present  in  the  raw  sugar, 
and  others,  such  as  pieces  of  twine,  lint  from  the  bags,  fine 
particles  of  leaves  from  the  Java  baskets  and  Philippine  mats, 
are  traceable  to  the  opening  of  the  containers  in  the  melt  house. 

The  process  of  removal  is  called  defecation.  In  former  years 
this  was  accomplished  by  adding  bullocks'  blood  to  the  raw- 
sugar  liquor  in  the  blow-ups  and  heating  the  mixture  until 
the  scum  which  rose  to  the  surface  cracked,  when  the  solu- 
tion below  was  found  perfectly  clear,  or,  in  the  language  of  the 
refinery  man,  bright.  Today,  however,  chemicals  are  the  defe- 
cating agents,  those  most  commonly  used  being  phosphoric  acid 
and  lime.  Phosphoric  acid,  neutralized  with  lime,  throws  down 
a  heavy,  flocculent  precipitate  which,  as  it  settles,  sweeps  the 
solution  and  drags  down  all  the  suspended  matter,  gums,  etc., 
leaving  the  liquor  above  clear  and  transparent. 

The  precipitate  must  now  be  removed,  and  this  is  accom- 
plished by  running  the  liquor  through  the  bag  filters  on  the 
floor  below.  These  filters  are  tight  iron  boxes,  about  sixteen  feet 
long,  six  feet  wide  and  seven  feet  high.  The  top  of  the  box  is  de- 


56  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

pressed  about  eight  inches  below  the  sides  and  ends,  thus  form- 
ing a  tank.  This  top  is  perforated  with  five  hundred  holes,  one 
and  one-half  inches  in  diameter.  From  the  bottom  of  the  iron 
box  is  an  outlet  pipe  leading  into  tanks  below. 

In  each  of  the  holes  on  the  inside  top  of  the  box  is  screwed  a 
so-called  "brass  bottle,"  conical  in  shape,  to  which  is  securely 
attached  a  closely-woven  cotton  filter  bag,  about  twenty-four 
inches  wide  and  seventy  inches  long.  This  filter  bag  is  encased 
in  a  heavier  and  stronger  cotton  sheath,  or  sleeve,  about  eight 
inches  wide,  which  adds  strength  and  keeps  the  twenty-four- 
inch  bag  in  folds  so  as  to  give  an  effect  similar  to  that  of  a  fold- 
ed paper  filter,  frequently  seen  in  drug  stores.  Each  bag  filter 
contains  five  hundred  of  these  bags,  suspended  vertically  from 
the  top. 

Before  any  liquor  is  run  on  the  filters,  the  bags  and  the  iron 
box  are  heated  by  means  of  steam  to  bring  the  apparatus  to  a 
temperature  of  about  190  degrees  Fahrenheit.  This  prevents 
the  chilling  of  the  sugar  liquor  by  cold  bags,  which  would  cause 
the  bags  to  become  "blocked,"  as  it  is  technically  called.  The 
liquor  from  the  blow-ups,  at  190  degrees  temperature,  is  now 
turned  into  the  depressed  tank  on  the  top  of  the  filter  and  flows 
through  the  perforations  into  the  bags  attached  on  the  inside, 
down  through  the  bags,  and  finds  an  exit  through  the  bottom 
of  the  filter  into  the  tanks  below. 

As  the  first  liquor  comes  through  the  bags,  it  is  a  little  cloudy, 
but  in  a  few  minutes,  as  the  pores  of  the  bags  fill  with  the  insol- 
uble substances,  it  becomes  perfectly  bright,  all  the  suspended 
and  insoluble  impurities  remaining  in  the  bags,  together  with 
the  precipitates  drawn  over  from  the  blow-ups.  The  cloudy 
liquor  is  pumped  to  the  top  of  the  filter  and  clarified  by  being 
run  through  a  second  time.  It  is  interesting  to  know  that  it  is 
not  really  the  bag  that  does  the  filtering,  but  the  thin  layer  of 
sediment  that  is  deposited  from  the  liquor  itself  on  the  inner 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  57 

surface  of  the  bag.  The  cotton  bags  are  made  in  a  particular 
manner,  and  from  a  fabric  especially  adapted  to  catch  the  sedi- 
ment and  to  form,  in  conjunction  with  it,  an  excellent  filtering 
medium. 

The  liquor,  as  it  runs  into  the  tanks,  must  be  carefully 
watched,  for  sometimes  a  bag  inside  the  filter  breaks,  which 
causes  cloudy  liquor  by  allowing  the  precipitates  to  gain  en- 
trance into  the  clear  liquor.  As  soon  as  this  is  noticed,  samples 
are  taken  from  the  outlet  of  each  filter  and  the  defective  one 
found  and  investigated. 

When  a  bag  is  torn,  or  develops  a  hole,  the  liquor  runs 
through  the  opening  on  the  top  of  the  filter  so  fast  that  it  forms 
a  little  whirlpool,  which  shows  the  bag  that  is  broken.  A  wood- 
en plug  is  immediately  driven  into  the  opening  and  that  partic- 
ular bag  cut  out.  The  men  on  the  bag  filters  soon  become  so  ex- 
pert that  they  detect  broken  bags  and  plug  them  before  the 
cloudy  liquor  gets  to  the  inspection  station.  It  is  essential  that 
the  liquor  be  freed  from  all  suspended  impurities  at  this  station 
before  the  next  step  is  taken,  hence  great  care  and  watchfulness 
must  be  exercised. 

In  time  the  coating  of  sediment,  gums  and  precipitates  on  the 
inside  of  the  bag  becomes  so  thick  that  the  liquor  runs  very 
slowly  and  finally  stops.  The  refinery  term  for  this  condition  is 
"stuck-up."  Depending  on  the  impurities  in  the  original  liquor, 
the  bag  filters  will  continue  to  filter  the  liquor  for  from  twelve 
to  twenty  hours  and  sometimes  longer. 

After  the  bags  are  "stuck-up/'  the  liquor  remaining  in  them 
is  sucked  out  by  means  of  vacuum  through  a  small  pipe  at- 
tached to  a  long  rubber  hose  and  inserted  in  the  bags  through 
the  holes  in  the  top  of  the  filter.  The  liquor  thus  sucked  out  of 
the  "stuck-up"  bags  is  sent  to  the  blow-ups  and  reprocessed 
with  new  liquor,  thus  beginning  its  journey  anew. 

As  soon  as  the  liquor  is  sucked  out,  hot  water  is  run  through 


58  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

to  reduce  the  sugar  contents  of  the  filter.  This  water  is  saved 
and  the  sugar  it  takes  up  is  subsequently  recovered.  The  filter 
is  then  opened  by  means  of  an  electric  hoist  traveling  on  an 
overhead  track  immediately  above  the  filters.  Chains  are  at- 
tached to  the  top  of  the  filter  and  the  hoist  elevates  top,  bags 
and  all,  to  a  point  sufficiently  high  for  the  bags  attached  to  the 
top  to  clear  the  adjoining  filters.  The  top  and  bags  are  then 
moved  along  the  track  to  the  washing  station.  Meanwhile  an- 
other hoist  has  delivered  a  duplicate  top,  with  fresh  bags  at- 
tached, to  the  filter,  where  it  is  lowered  into  place.  In  this  way 
the  filter  is  again  in  operation  within  five  minutes.  At  the  wash- 
ing station  the  bags  just  taken  from  the  filter  are  detached  from 
the  top  for  washing,  and  the  top  is  sent  to  a  point  where  clean 
bags  are  again  attached.  It  is  then  ready  to  go  into  another 
filter. 

At  the  washing  station  the  dirty  bags  are  pulled  out  of  the 
sheaths  and  turned  inside  out  in  tanks  containing  water,  thus 
releasing  a  large  quantity  of  the  impurities.  The  bags  and 
sheaths  are  then  thrown  into  washing  machines,  where  all  the 
remaining  impurities  and  sugar  are  washed  out  of  them.  From 
the  washers  the  bags  are  put  into  centrifugal  machines,  or 
through  powerful  wringers,  and  dried  sufficiently  to  permit  be- 
ing rehandled.  They  are  then  resheathed  and  made  ready  to  be 
attached  to  another  top. 

The  water  from  the  washers  contains  a  large  amount  of 
sugar  and  is  conducted  to  a  tank  similar  to  one  of  the  blow-ups, 
where  it  is  treated  with  lime  and  diluted  with  water  at  190  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  until  it  contains  only  from  ten  to  twelve  per 
cent  of  solid  matter.  This  liquid  is  then  pumped  through  filter 
presses  and  the  impurities  removed.  The  "sweet  water/'  as  it  is 
termed,  which  now  contains  practically  all  the  sugar,  is  col- 
lected in  tanks  and  the  sugar  is  ultimately  extracted  by  evapo- 
ration, filtration  and  boiling  to  grain. 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  59 

The  impurities  removed  by  the  filter  presses  consist  of  sand, 
portions  of  bags  and  baskets,  phosphates,  hair,  lime,  salts  and 
gums,  in  fact  every  kind  of  foreign  matter  that  finds  its  way 
into  raw  sugar  either  in  the  process  of  manufacture  or  in  trans- 
portation. A  small  amount  of  sugar  accompanies  this  refuse, 
but  as  its  recovery  would  cost  more  than  it  is  worth,  it  is  al- 
lowed to  run  to  waste.  The  filter-press  cake,  as  it  is  called,  con- 
tains valuable  fertilizing  agents,  and  when  conditions  permit 
it  is  used  for  fertilizing  purposes,  otherwise  it  is  run  to  waste. 

BONE-CHAR  FILTRATION 
REMOVAL  OF  COLOR 

To  resume  the  course  of  the  bag-filtered  liquor,  from  which  the 
superficial,  the  suspended  and  insoluble  impurities  have  been  re- 
moved and  which  is  now  the  color  of  clear  amber,  the  next  step 
is  bone-char  filtration. 

Bone-char,  bone-coal  or  bone-black,  as  it  is  variously  called, 
is  made  from  the  bones  of  animals.  After  the  fat  and  glue  are 
removed,  the  bones  are  subjected  to  a  dry  distillation  which 
carbonizes  them.  These  charred  bones  are  then  broken  into 
very  small  pieces,  or  until  they  will  pass  through  a  ten-mesh 
screen  and  remain  on  a  thirty-mesh  screen;  in  other  words,  the 
size  of  the  grains  used  in  a  sugar  refinery  vary  from  one-tenth 
to  one-thirtieth  of  an  inch.  If  properly  manufactured,  the 
grains  are  hard,  porous,  and  have  a  great  affinity  for  moisture. 

Bone-char  has  the  peculiar  property  of  removing  from  the 
sugar  liquor,  in  some  unknown  mechanical  way,  not  only  the 
soluble  salts  but  the  coloring  matter  as  well.  The  elimination 
of  the  salts  and  coloring  matter  facilitates  the  subsequent  crys- 
tallization. 

The  char  house  is,  therefore,  by  far  the  most  important  sta- 
tion in  a  refinery,  for  failure  in  the  char  house  means  failure 
throughout. 


60  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

Contrary  to  the  general  practice  in  Europe,  beet-sugar  fac- 
tories in  the  United  States  do  not  use  bone-char,  and  conse- 
quently do  not  take  all  the  coloring  matter  and  salts  out  of  the 
liquor.  They  secure  a  white  sugar  by  other  methods,  which  will 
be  explained  later  on.  In  a  cane-sugar  refinery,  however,  the 
coloring  matter  and  impurities  are  entirely  eliminated,  and  the 
product  is  invariably  pure  and  white. 

The  char  filters  are  cast-iron  cylinders,  usually  ten  feet  in 
diameter  and  twenty  feet  high,  with  doors  at  the  top  for  en- 
trance of  the  char  and  openings  at  the  bottom  through  which  it 
is  removed.  There  are  also  many  pipe  connections  for  the  in- 
troduction and  outlet  of  liquors,  steam,  hot  water  and  com- 
pressed air.  The  filters  are  insulated  on  the  outside  with  as- 
bestos or  some  other  non-conductor  of  heat  to  prevent  the  tem- 
perature of  the  liquor  from  being  lowered  as  it  passes  through. 
Each  filter  has  a  capacity  of  from  sixty  thousand  to  eighty 
thousand  pounds  of  bone-char. 

At  the  bottom  of  the  filter  is  a  perforated  iron  plate.  Over 
this  is  placed  a  coarsely  woven  cotton  blanket,  through  which 
the  liquor  will  pass,  but  which  prevents  the  char  from  escaping 
from  the  filter  with  the  liquor  or  wash  water.  After  the  blanket 
is  set  in  place,  the  char  is  delivered  by  gravity  through  an  over- 
head pipe  into  the  filter,  until  it  is  entirely  full.  The  char,  as  it 
goes  in,  has  a  temperature  of  from  170  to  i8o  degrees  Fahren- 
heit, and  the  bag-filtered  liquor  which  is  then  run  on  has  a 
slightly  higher  temperature. 

When  the  liquor  in  the  filter  reaches  the  top  and  the  char  has 
settled  in  a  compact  mass,  the  cover  is  put  on  and  fastened  se- 
curely to  prevent  leakage.  The  liquor  is  again  allowed  to  run 
into  the  filter  by  gravity,  from  the  tanks  about  fifteen  feet  over- 
head. The  valve  on  the  bottom  of  the  filter  is  then  opened  and 
the  liquor,  as  it  filters  slowly  through  the  char,  is  led  through 
a  copper  pipe  to  the  liquor  gallery,  to  which  station  all  the  char- 


CHAR  FILTERS — SHOWING  OUTLET  PIPES 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  6l 

filtered  liquor  is  delivered.  This  pipe,  instead  of  leading  down- 
ward from  the  filter,  leads  upward  and  nearly  to  the  top,  so  that 
the  flow  of  liquor  through  the  char  will  be  slow  and  uniform 
and  the  filter  will  always  remain  full  of  liquor.  The  diameter  of 
the  filter  is  ten  feet,  while  that  of  the  outlet  pipe  is  two  inches, 
so  that  the  flow  of  liquor  through  the  char  is  necessarily  very 
slow.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  the  liquor  must  remain  in  con- 
tact with  char  a  certain  time  to  enable  the  char  to  absorb  the 
coloring  matter  and  soluble  salts. 

The  first  liquor  from  the  filter  appears  cloudy  and  is  sent 
back  for  refiltration,  but  it  soon  becomes  bright,  perfectly 
colorless  and  transparent  as  plate  glass.  This  white  liquor  is 
pumped  from  the  liquor  gallery  into  the  tanks  on  the  top  floor 
in  the  pan  house,  ready  for  the  next  process,  which  will  be  dealt 
with  presently. 

After  a  filter  has  been  running  for  from  twenty-four  to  thirty- 
six  hours,  depending  on  the  character  of  the  sugar  in  the  liquor, 
the  char  becomes  "tired"  or  spent.  In  other  words,  it  has  ab- 
sorbed so  much  of  the  impurities  and  coloring  matter  from  the 
liquor  passing  through  it  that  its  capacity  to  absorb  more  is 
gone  and  the  liquor  begins  to  show  a  slight  straw  or  canary 
color.  The  inspector  in  the  liquor  gallery  immediately  notices 
this  and  orders  the  liquor  stopped.  Immediately  afterwards  a 
lower-grade  liquor  is  turned  into  the  filter,  which  forces  the 
first  liquor  out  before  it.  In  due  time  the  man  at  the  liquor  gal- 
lery notices  the  number  two  liquor  coming  from  the  filter  and 
turns  it  into  separate  tanks.  In  time  a  still  lower  grade  of  liquor 
is  turned  on  and  the  filter  run  until  the  bone-char  is  absolutely 
exhausted,  when  it  is  ordered  "sweetened  off." 

Hot  water  is  then  turned  in  at  the  top  of  the  filter  to  wash 
out  the  remaining  sugar  liquor  which  gradually  becomes  more 
and  more  dilute.  When  its  density  has  been  lowered  to  about 
thirty-five  per  cent  of  solid  matter,  it  is  diverted  to  other  tanks, 


62  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

and  this  is  continued  until  only  three-tenths  of  one  per  cent 
of  sugar  remains  in  the  sweet  water,  as  it  is  now  called.  The 
washing  of  the  char  in  the  filter  in  this  manner,  by  hot  water,  is 
kept  up  for  twelve  hours,  but  as  soon  as  the  sugar  content  falls 
below  three-tenths  of  one  per  cent  the  solution  is  allowed  to 
run  to  waste,  as  the  recovery  of  this  small  percentage  of  sugar 
would  cost  more  than  its  value. 

The  sweet  water  is  sent  to  the  evaporators,  concentrated  to 
58.6  per  cent  of  solid  matter,  and  it  then  begins  its  refining  jour- 
ney over  again. 

This  long  and  continued  washing  of  the  filters  is  for  the  pur- 
pose of  removing  as  much  as  possible  of  the  organic  and  min- 
eral impurities  absorbed  by  the  char. 

The  washing  completed,  compressed  air  is  applied  to  the 
filter  to  force  out  the  remaining  water.  The  bottom  doors  of  the 
filter  are  then  opened  and  the  char,  containing  about  twenty 
per  cent  of  water,  drops  to  the  floor  below.  Here  it  passes 
through  mechanical  driers  and  is  delivered  comparatively  free 
from  moisture  to  the  kilns.  There  it  is  revivified,  that  is,  the  or- 
ganic matter  in  the  char  which  could  not  be  removed  by  wash- 
ing is  converted  into  carbon  by  being  heated  to  a  cherry  red  in 
the  absence  of  air.  This  is  accomplished  by  allowing  the  char  to 
pass  by  gravity  through  the  red-hot  retorts  of  the  kilns. 

As  the  wet  char  leaves  the  filter,  it  drops  on  a  moving  belt 
which  carries  it  to  large  cast-iron  hoppers  leading  to  the  driers 
immediately  beneath,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  moisture  is 
expelled  from  the  char  prior  to  its  being  treated  in  the  revivify- 
ing kilns.  The  driers  are  made  up  of  a  number  of  thin,  hollow, 
cast-iron,  triangular  pipes,  enclosed  in  a  large,  rectangular,  out- 
side casing.  The  wet  bone-char  passes  over  these  hollow  pipes 
as  it  falls  slowly  through  the  drier.  The  hot  gases  from  the  fur- 
naces of  the  kilns  below  pass  through  these  cast-iron  pipes, 
giving  off  heat  as  they  ascend,  thus  driving  off  the  moisture  in 


TOP  OF  CHAR  FILTERS — SHOWING  PIPE  CONNECTIONS 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  63 

the  char  as  it  falls  down  over  the  outer  surface  of  the  pipes.  At 
the  same  time,  hot  air  obtained  from  cooling  the  char  in  the 
cooling  pipes  below  the  retorts  is  drawn  through  the  drier,  com- 
ing in  direct  contact  with  the  char.  The  moisture  given  off  by 
the  char  is  absorbed  by  this  hot  air  and  carried  out  of  the  drier 
and  building  by  fans  or  smokestacks.  By  this  means  the  water 
in  the  char  is  reduced  to  ten  per  cent,  and  in  this  comparatively 
dry,  hot  state  it  runs  freely  by  gravity  from  the  bottom  of 
the  drier  into  a  second  set  of  hoppers,  through  which  it  drops 
into  the  retorts  of  the  kiln.  The  hot  gases,  after  drying  the  char, 
pass  out  at  the  top  of  the  drier  through  a  flue  leading  to  a  stack 
outside  the  building. 

The  kilns  are  large  square  boxes  of  brick,  built  around  a 
strong  supporting  iron  structure.  On  each  side  of  these  boxes 
are  a  number  of  large  flat  pipes  of  cast  iron,  nine  feet  long  and 
twelve  inches  by  three  inches  in  section,  the  iron  being  three- 
quarters  of  an  inch  thick.  These  pipes  are  called  retorts  and  are 
arranged  vertically  in  the  kilns,  forty  on  each  side.  The  space  in 
the  center  between  the  retorts  is  known  as  the  furnace  and  ex- 
tends the  entire  length  of  the  kiln,  a  distance  of  about  sixteen 
feet.  Intense  fires  are  maintained  in  this  central  space  and  the 
flames  playing  around  the  retorts  keep  them  red-hot.  The  up- 
per ends  of  the  retorts  lead  into  the  hoppers  above  and  the 
lower  ends  to  the  cooling  pipes  below.  As  the  char  passes  grad- 
ually through  the  red-hot  retorts,  it  becomes  heated  to  900  de- 
grees Fahrenheit  and  the  organic  matter  it  absorbed  from  the 
sugar  liquor  is  changed  into  carbon.  In  this  way  the  char  be- 
comes almost  as  good  as  new,  or,  as  the  term  goes,  revivified. 
Each  kiln  has  a  capacity  of  revivifying  sixty  thousand  pounds 
of  bone-char  per  day. 

If  the  char  in  this  red-hot  state  were  suddenly  exposed  to  the 
air,  the  contact  with  oxygen  would  bring  about  combustion 
and  the  char  would  be  quickly  reduced  to  ashes,  so  a  cooling 


64  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

process  is  necessary.  It  is,  therefore,  drawn  from  the  cast-iron 
retorts  into  cooling  pipes  located  directly  beneath.  These  pipes 
are  of  thin  sheet-iron  and  are  about  three  by  four  and  a  half 
inches  in  section.  There  are  three  under  each  retort,  and  a  me- 
chanical device  at  the  bottom  allows  only  a  small  amount  of 
char  to  escape  at  a  time.  This  amount  can  be  regulated  at  will 
by  the  operator,  and  in  this  way  the  char  is  held  in  the  retorts 
the  exact  time  necessary  for  its  revivification. 

A  current  of  cold  air  circulates  continually  around  the  cool- 
ing pipes,  taking  up  the  heat  from  the  char  and  delivering  it 
through  pipes  to  the  drier  overhead,  so  that  when  the  char 
leaves  the  bottom  of  the  pipes  its  temperature  is  about  180  de- 
grees Fahrenheit.  From  the  cooling  pipes,  it  drops  on  a  belt 
conveyor  from  which  it  is  carried  by  endless  belt  or  chain 
bucket  elevators  to  the  top  of  the  char  filters  to  be  used  again. 

The  manipulation  of  the  char  filters  varies  in  different  re- 
fineries, some  running  the  liquor  over  the  char  for  a  longer 
period  than  others,  but  a  fair  average  of  the  time  required  for 
filling,  settling  running  liquors  and  syrups,  sweetening  off, 
washing,  applying  air  and  emptying,  is  eighty-six  hours,  the 
shortest  time  being  seventy-two  hours.  Taking  eighty-six 
hours  as  a  basis,  it  will  be  seen  that  the  char  is  handled  and  re- 
vivified eighty-one  times  each  year  after  making  due  allow- 
ance for  Sundays,  holidays  and  annual  clean-up  periods. 

Each  time  the  char  is  handled,  a  certain  amount  of  it  is 
broken  into  dust,  and  this  is  taken  out  by  passing  it  over  fine 
screens,  and  also  by  exhaust  fans.  Obviously,  the  amount  of 
dust  taken  out  each  day  must  be  replaced  by  its  equivalent  in 
new  char.  It  is  estimated  that  the  original  char  put  into  the 
filters  will  last  from  five  to  six  years  before  it  finally  becomes 
disintegrated  and  is  taken  out  as  dust. 

As  approximately  one  pound  of  char  is  required  for  every 
pound  of  sugar  melted,  it  will  be  seen  that  as  the  liquor  is 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  65 

in  contact  with  the  char  for  only  twenty-four  hours  out  of 
seventy-two,  a  refinery  turning  out  two  million  pounds  of  sugar 
per  day  should  have  filter  capacity  for  six  million  pounds  of 
char.  The  amount  of  the  latter  that  is  handled  each  year  is, 
therefore,  very  great  and  requires  a  large  and  costly  plant  to 
take  care  of  it  properly. 

CRYSTALLIZATION 
PRODUCTION  OF  CRYSTALS  BY  CONCENTRATION 

The  refining  process  has  been  described  up  to  and  including  the 
purification  and  decolorizing  of  the  sugar  liquor,  the  last  step 
being  the  delivery  of  the  pure  white  liquor  into  the  receiving 
tanks  in  the  pan  house. 

After  the  white  liquor  leaves  the  char  filters,  the  greatest 
care  must  be  exercised  to  keep  all  the  machinery,  piping  and 
apparatus  scrupulously  clean,  for  if  any  foreign  matter  becomes 
mixed  with  the  liquor  or  sugar  it  can  only  be  removed  by  re- 
filtering  or  remelting. 

By  means  of  vacuum,  the  liquor  is  drawn  from  the  tanks  into 
the  vacuum  pans,  this  being  the  last  operation  in  which  the 
sugar  is  handled  in  a  liquid  state.  From  this  point  on  it  drops 
by  gravity  from  floor  to  floor  in  a  solid  or  semi-solid  form,  until 
it  reaches  the  packing  room  as  a  finished  product.  In  a  first- 
class  refinery,  the  vacuum  pans,  as  well  as  all  the  piping  through 
which  the  liquor  passes,  are  made  of  copper  instead  of  iron  and 
steel,  which  eliminates  the  possibility  of  rust  or  scale  getting 
into  the  sugar. 

Refinery  vacuum  pans  are  usually  from  fourteen  to  sixteen 
feet  in  diameter  and  from  sixteen  to  seventeen  feet  high,  while 
in  shape  they  appear  almost  spherical.  The  boiling  takes  from 
one  hour  and  twenty-five  minutes  to  one  hour  and  forty-five 
minutes,  and  about  forty-five  tons  of  granulated  sugar  can  be 
made  at  each  boiling  in  a  fourteen-foot  pan.  Before  the  liquor 


66  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

is  drawn  in,  the  pan  is  thoroughly  cleansed  with  hot  water  and 
steam.  All  openings  are  then  closed  and  the  vacuum  pump 
started.  The  air  is  quickly  exhausted,  a  valve  in  the  pipe  line 
leading  from  the  receiving  tank  is  opened  and  the  pan  is  given  a 
charge  of  liquor.  Steam  is  turned  into  the  coils  of  the  pan  and 
the  boiling  process  begins.  Soon  sufficient  moisture  is  driven  off 
to  cause  the  sugar  to  "grain."  Shortly  after  the  grain  forms,  an- 
other charge  of  liquor  is  drawn  into  the  pan  and  the  operation 
is  repeated  until  the  pan  is  full  of  a  thick,  white,  mushy  sub- 
stance called  massecuite,  that  looks  very  much  like  half-formed 
ice.  The  vapor  driven  off  in  the  boiling  passes  out  through  a 
large  pipe  at  the  top  of  the  pan  and  is  condensed  by  being 
sprayed  with  cold  water.  On  account  of  the  high  vacuum,  the 
liquor  boils  violently  at  temperatures  ranging  from  140  degrees 
to  195  degrees  Fahrenheit;  thus  the  risk  of  scorching,  discolor- 
ation or  caramelization  of  the  sugar  is  minimized. 

On  the  front  of  the  pan  is  a  vertical  row  of  windows  made  of 
heavy  plate-glass,  and  through  these  the  liquor  is  watched 
during  the  boiling.  The  massecuite  in  the  pan  is  sampled  at  in- 
tervals by  the  sugar  boiler,  by  means  of  a  "proof  stick/'  a  brass 
rod  about  three  feet  long  and  one  and  one-quarter  inches  in 
diameter,  in  the  pan  end  of  which  there  is  a  hollow  space.  This 
stick  is  pushed  through  an  opening  in  the  side  of  the  pan  into 
which  it  fits  tightly,  and  then  partly  withdrawn.  A  small  quan- 
tity of  the  contents  of  the  pan  remains  in  the  hollow  space,  and 
this  the  sugar  boiler  removes  and  places  on  a  piece  of  clear 
glass.  On  holding  it  up  to  the  light,  he  sees  exactly  how  the 
crystallization  of  the  sugar  is  progressing,  and  by  observing 
and  feeling  the  crystals,  he  is  enabled  to  control  the  boiling  per- 
fectly. When  he  concludes  that  the  evaporation  is  complete  and 
the  massecuite  of  the  proper  consistency,  the  pump  is  stopped 
and  the  vacuum  broken  by  opening  a  valve  near  the  top  of  the 
pan,  admitting  the  outside  air.  The  foot  valve  is  then  opened 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  67 

and  the  massecuite  drops  from  the  pan  into  a  mixer  directly  un- 
derneath. There  it  is  kept  constantly  in  motion  by  a  revolving 
shaft  with  paddles,  to  prevent  the  crystals  from  sinking  to  the 
bottom.  From  the  mixer  it  is  drawn  into  the  centrifugals  and 
purged  of  the  mother  liquor,  the  pure  crystals  being  left  in  the 
machine.  The  liquor  thus  drawn  off  contains  whatever  impuri- 
ties may  have  remained  in  the  original  liquor.  It  is  now  pumped 
back  and  run  through  the  char  filters  again,  after  which  it  is 
boiled  in  the  vacuum  pan  and  the  granulated  sugar  taken  out  in 
the  centrifugals.  This  completes  the  process  of  producing  crys- 
tallized sugar  by  concentration. 

There  are  many  interesting  and  intricate  problems  in  con- 
nection with  the  extraction  of  the  sugar  from  the  wash  waters, 
sweet  waters  and  low-grade  syrups  that  are  constantly  accumu- 
lating in  a  sugar  refinery,  but  space  will  not  admit  of  their  be- 
ing dealt  with  here.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  the  process  of  extrac- 
tion is  carried  to  a  point  where  the  sugar  recovered  barely  pays 
for  the  labor  and  fuel  expended  in  the  operation.  The  ultimate 
result  is  white  sugar,  table  syrup  and  molasses. 

This  molasses  is  used  largely  in  the  manufacture  of  vinegar 
and  alcohol.  Mixed  with  grain  and  alfalfa  meal,  it  makes  an 
excellent  stock  food  that  cattle  take  to  readily  and  that  pos- 
sesses high  value  as  a  fattening  agent.  The  sucrose  and  glucose 
content  of  molasses  as  it  leaves  the  refinery  is  about  fifty  per 
cent. 

Naturally,  in  a  process  involving  so  much  handling,  filtering 
and  boiling,  there  must  be  some  loss,  and  the  efficiency  of  a 
refinery  is  based  upon  the  percentage  of  granulated  sugar  re- 
covered from  the  raw  article  delivered  to  the  melt.  It  may  be 
stated  for  general  guidance  that,  taking  an  average  of  the  re- 
fineries of  the  United  States,  one  hundred  pounds  of  refined 
white  sugar  is  made  from  each  one  hundred  and  seven  pounds 
of  ninety-six-degree  raw  sugar  melted.  Some  of  the  sugar  lost 


68  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

is  accounted  for  in  the  molasses,  in  the  sediment  from  the  filter 
presses,  and  in  the  wash  waters  from  the  char  filters.  The  re- 
mainder is  the  undetermined  loss  in  handling,  in  sugar  de- 
stroyed by  heating,  and  in  sugar  dust  escaping  during  the 
manufacturing  operation.  As  has  been  said,  the  component 
parts  of  raw  sugars  vary  more  or  less,  and  the  recovery  in  white 
sugar  from  two  lots  of  raws,  each  polarizing  ninety-six  degrees, 
might  differ  considerably  according  to  the  refractory  matter  in 
the  original  raw  sugar. 

The  following  figures  give  a  fairly  accurate  idea  of  the  dis- 
position of  one  hundred  pounds  of  ninety-six-degree  raw  sugar 
in  refining: 

Water,  which  is  eliminated  .70  per  cent 

Non-sugar,  which  is  eliminated  3.30 

Sucrose  loss,  undetermined  .75    "      " 

Sucrose  left  in  molasses  1.75    "      " 

Sucrose  extracted  in  granulated  form  93.50    "      " 


Raw  sugar  melted  100.00    "      " 

The  undetermined  loss  includes  every  loss  from  the  time  the 
raw  sugar  is  weighed  into  the  warehouse  until  the  granulated 
article  is  sold  to  the  buyer.  It  is  evident,  therefore,  that  one  of 
the  principal  items  of  refining  cost  is  the  actual  loss  of  weight 
in  converting  raw  into  refined  sugar.  Assuming  that  the  raw 
sugar  costs  four  cents  per  pound,  the  refiner  has  lost  on  each 
one  hundred  pounds  melted,  four  cents  X  6%  pounds,  or  twen- 
ty-six cents,  less  the  small  value  of  the  resulting  molasses.  If 
the  raw  sugar  cost  six  cents,  the  loss  would  be  thirty-nine  cents. 
At  four  cents,  the  loss  is  equivalent  to  $5.20  per  ton,  or,  in  the 
case  of  a  refinery  melting  two  million  pounds  of  raw  sugar 
daily,  $5,200.00  for  each  working  day.  This  does  not  include  any 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  69 

of  the  operating  expenses,  such  as  labor,  fuel,  bone-char,  con- 
tainers, selling  expense  or  administration — just  the  actual  value 
of  the  raw  sugar  lost  in  the  process  of  refining. 

PARTIAL  DRYING 
PURGING  CRYSTALS  FROM  THE  SYRUP 

Returning  to  the  sugar  left  in  the  centrifugals,  the  force  de- 
veloped in  a  machine  forty  inches  in  diameter,  spinning  at  the 
rate  of  eleven  hundred  revolutions  per  minute,  is  so  great  that 
it  quickly  dispels  all  the  liquor  surrounding  the  crystals,  leav- 
ing them  nearly  dry,  in  a  solid,  vertical  wall.  Water,  filtered  to 
insure  its  purity  and  cleanliness,  is  then  sprayed  on  this  spin- 
ning wall  of  sugar,  only  to  be  immediately  thrown  off  through 
the  sugar  by  the  centrifugal  motion.  In  passing  through  the 
sugar  it  washes  the  last  of  the  syrup  from  the  grains  and  leaves 
them  perfectly  white.  Cold  water,  rather  than  hot,  is  used  for 
this  purpose,  as  it  dissolves  less  sugar. 

In  former  years  a  small  quantity  of  bluing  was  added  to  the 
spraying  water  in  order  to  enhance  the  whiteness  of  the  sugar, 
just  as  bluing  is  employed  in  washing  fine  linen  fabrics.  Since 
the  pure-food  laws  became  effective,  however,  the  practice  has 
been  discontinued  in  all  cane-sugar  refineries. 

After  the  sugar  is  thoroughly  washed,  the  centrifugal  ma- 
chine is  stopped,  a  large  valve  in  the  bottom  opened  and  the 
mechanical  discharger  rapidly  ejects  the  sugar  (now  contain- 
ing only  about  1.2  per  cent  moisture)  from  the  machine  into  a 
storage  bin  beneath. 

FINAL  DRYING  OF  CRYSTALS 

For  some  reason  not  well  understood,  the  next  step  in  refining 
is  called  "granulation."  Actual  granulation,  or  crystallization, 
takes  place  in  the  pans,  and  the  process  about  to  be  described 
should  properly  be  called  drying.  The  manufacturing  term, 
however,  is  as  given. 


70  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

Drying  is  effected  in  an  apparatus  consisting  of  two  large 
cylindrical  drums  of  wrought  iron.  These  drums  are  about  six 
feet  in  diameter,  thirty  feet  long  and  have  a  slight  downward 
pitch  from  the  receiving  to  the  discharging  end.  The  first  drum 
rests  on  the  floor,  directly  below  the  storage  bin,  and  is  called 
the  sweater.  It  turns  slowly  on  revolving  wheels,  by  means 
of  circular  tracks  bolted  to  it.  The  power  that  moves  it  is  de- 
livered from  an  electric  motor,  through  a  pulley,  shaft  and  pin- 
ion, the  latter  working  in  a  gear  bolted  to  the  outside  circum- 
ference of  the  drum.  Fastened  to  the  inner  surface  of  this  drum 
is  a  series  of  short,  narrow  shelves  with  saw-tooth  edges  that 
serve  to  carry  the  sugar  'to  the  top  of  the  revolving  cylinder, 
whence  it  falls  to  the  lower  side,  causing  a  continual  shower  of 
sugar  throughout  the  entire  length  and  breadth  of  the  drum. 
The  sugar  is  delivered  through  a  pipe  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
sweater,  and  the  revolving  motion  together  with  the  incline  of 
the  cylinder  gradually  works  it  down  to  the  lower  end.  Here  it 
drops  through  a  chute  to  the  granulator  on  the  floor  below, 
where  the  process  of  drying  is  completed. 

A  strong  current  of  hot  air  is  drawn  through  the  sweater  by 
a  powerful  fan  connected  to  the  upper  end  by  a  very  large  pipe. 
The  air  introduced  in  this  way  is  brought  to  a  high  temperature 
by  passing  around  a  number  of  coils  of  pipe  charged  with 
steam,  which  are  placed  directly  in  front  of  the  sweater.  The 
hot  air  sweeping  through  the  drum  absorbs  nearly  all  of  the 
moisture  in  the  sugar,  which  carries  1.2  per  cent  of  water  when 
it  enters  the  drum  and  about  o.i  per  cent  as  it  leaves  it. 

The  granulator,  or  lower  drum,  is  the  same  size  as  the  sweater 
and  is  constructed  in  very  much  the  same  manner,  having 
shelves  for  carrying  the  sugar  to  the  top  and  dropping  it  at  the 
proper  point,  and  being  equipped  with  a  large  fan  to  draw  off 
the  hot,  moist  air.  Instead  of  having  steam  coils  in  front,  how- 
ever, it  has  in  its  center  a  steam-heated  drum  about  twenty- 


mm\ 

'  .'£?*& 

:i 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  71 

four  inches  in  diameter  that  revolves  with  it.  The  sugar  crys- 
tals, as  they  fall  in  a  shower  from  the  shelves,  come  in  contact 
with  the  hot  inner  drum  on  their  way  through  the  granulator, 
and  in  this  manner  become  thoroughly  dried.  The  moisture  in 
the  sugar,  as  it  emerges  from  the  granulator,  is  less  than  four- 
Eundredths  of  one  per  cent,  an  amount  too  slight  to  determine 
except  with  the  most  delicate  apparatus. 

To  insure  perfect  drying,  the  damp  sugar  must  be  fed  to  the 
upper  drum  or  sweater  with  unfailing  regularity.  This  is  ac- 
complished by  the  use  of  revolving  screws  located  under  the 
storage  bins.  By  turning  a  certain  number  of  revolutions  per 
minute,  they  deliver  an  even  and  steady  supply  of  sugar. 

From  the  granulators  the  sugar  is  dropped  on  thin  cotton 
belts  that,  passing  around  highly  magnetized  pulleys,  carry  it 
to  the  dry  storage  bins.  The  sugar  is  cooled  to  normal  tempera- 
ture before  being  packed  in  containers,  thus  preventing  subse- 
quent absorption  of  moisture  and  consequent  caking. 

Magnetic  pulleys  are  used  to  extract  any  particles  of  iron 
scale  or  rust  that  may  drop  into  the  sugar  after  the  liquor  leaves 
the  char  filters.  Rust  sometimes  forms  in  the  pans,  mixers,  con- 
veyors, elevators,  sweaters  or  granulators,  and  should  it  get  in- 
to the  sugar  the  magnetic  pulleys  will  surely  remove  it. 

Storage  bins  and  storage  tanks  are  prominent  accessories  of 
all  sugar  refineries,  for  if  a  breakdown  should  occur  at  any 
point,  there  must  always  be  a  supply  of  material  on  hand  to 
keep  the  refining  operations  going  while  the  trouble  is  being 
remedied. 

SCREENING 
SEPARATING  CRYSTALS  INTO  VARIOUS  SIZES 

The  now  thoroughly  cold,  dry  and  free-running  granulated 
sugar  is  drawn  from  the  storage  bins  through  galvanized  metal 
pipes  and  taken  to  the  separators  by  screw  conveyors,  which 
deliver  it  at  an  even,  steady  feed — a  most  essential  feature.  The 


72  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

sugar  as  it  comes  from  the  pans  is  made  up  of  crystals  of  vari- 
ous sizes.  It  also  contains  a  number  of  small  lumps  formed  in 
the  centrifugal  machines,  or  in  some  part  of  the  process  after 
it  leaves  the  pans.  It  is  necessary  to  separate  the  crystals  ac- 
cording to  size  and  to  screen  out  the  lumps,  for  the  following 
reason: 

In  some  parts  of  the  country,  people  have  been  educated  to 
use  a  coarse-grained  sugar;  in  other  sections,  they  are  accus- 
tomed to  sugar  of  a  fine  grain.  For  example,  on  the  Pacific 
coast,  the  demand  is  for  the  fine-grained  article;  the  consumers 
of  the  Mississippi  river  valley  like  a  fairly  large  grain;  while 
the  Atlantic  coast  trade  'calls  for  a  still  coarser  product.  There 
is  a  difference,  too,  as  to  containers.  In  the  East  the  preference 
is  for  the  barrel  package,  while  the  Western  buyer  wants  his 
sugar  put  up  in  bags. 

There  are  many  different  types  of  separators  commonly  in 
use,  but  in  all  of  them  the  governing  principle  is  the  same.  It  is 
the  elimination  of  lumps  and  dust  from  the  final  product  and 
the  separation  of  the  sugar  crystals  according  to  size.  The 
separator  here  specifically  referred  to  will  explain  the  principle 
as  well  as  any  other  type,  and  a  glance  at  the  accompanying 
illustration  will  give  the  reader  a  good  idea  of  its  construction. 
It  is  made  up  of  a  number  of  wire  screens  of  various  sizes,  fixed 
at  a  sharp  incline,  one  above  the  other,  and  all  enclosed  in  a 
tight,  dust-proof  steel  case.  At  the  top  of  the  case  is  a  steel 
screw  conveyor  by  which  the  sugar  is  fed  evenly  and  steadily 
across  the  entire  width  of  the  top  screen. 

On  the  outside  face  of  the  case  are  a  number  of  shafts  to 
which  hammers  are  attached.  As  the  shafts  revolve,  the  ham- 
mers tap  the  various  screens  below,  lightly  and  at  rapid  inter- 
vals, thus  causing  them  to  vibrate. 

The  upper  screen,  called  the  scalper,  is  quite  coarse  and  al- 
lows all  the  sugar  to  fall  through  except  the  lumps,  which 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  73 

run  down  the  face  of  the  screen  into  a  pipe  that  carries  them  to 
the  melt,  where  they  begin  the  refining  process  over  again. 
These  lumps,  however,  represent  a  very  small  proportion  of  the 
whole. 

The  second  screen  is  finer  than  the  scalper.  It  permits  part  of 
the  sugar  to  pass  through,  but  retains  a  certain  amount  which 
falls  down  on  the  face  of  the  screen,  whence  it  is  led  through  a 
pipe  to  a  special  bin.  Sugar  of  this  size  is  known  as  coarse 
granulated. 

The  next  screen  lets  the  finer  grains  drop  through,  but 
catches  the  standard  granulated,  which  in  turn  is  drawn  off 
to  its  special  bin.  The  last  screen,  an  extremely  fine  one,  retains 
the  extra  fine  granulated,  and  this  in  turn  is  delivered  to  its 
appointed  bin.  The  sugar  passing  through  the  last  screen  is  so 
fine  as  to  be  classed  as  "dust,"  which,  not  being  marketable,  is 
usually  remelted. 

The  amount  of  any  one  grade  of  sugar  obtained  from  the 
separator  may  be  changed,  within  certain  limits,  by  the  boiling 
in  the  vacuum  pans.  If  a  large  proportion  of  fine-grained  sugar 
is  required,  the  sugar  boilers  are  instructed  accordingly.  It  is 
impossible,  however,  to  boil  all  the  grains  in  each  strike  a  uni- 
form size,  or  to  boil  any  two  strikes  exactly  alike,  so  the  separa- 
tors are  necessary,  especially  for  removing  the  lumps  and  dust. 
The  dust  is  caused  by  the  constant  falling  of  the  dry  sugar 
crystals  against  each  other  in  the  driers  and  granulators,  and 
by  the  grinding  action  upon  the  sugar  crystals  in  the  screw  con- 
veyors. 

PACKING 

FILLING  VARIOUS  KINDS  AND  SIZES  OF  CONTAINERS 

When  putting  up  his  goods,  a  sugar  refiner — like  every  other 
manufacturer — must  needs  cater  to  the  wishes  and  tastes  of 
the  consuming  buyer.  The  modern  tendency  in  containers  is  in 
favor  of  sealed  air-tight  and  dust-proof  packages.  Some  refiners 


74  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

spend  great  sums  of  money  every  year  in  advertising  the  merits 
of  special  sugars  packed  in  dust-proof  cartons.  Their  rivals  gen- 
erally follow  suit,  as  competition  in  the  marketing  of  sugar  is 
probably  far  keener  than  in  any  other  line  of  business. 

The  plain  truth  is  that  all  refined  granulated  cane  sugar 
offered  for  sale  in  the  markets  of  this  country  today  is  almost 
identical,  irrespective  of  the  manner  in  which  it  may  be  packed. 
The  poorest  quality  of  refined  sugar  made  has,  in  all  likelihood, 
a  purity  not  lower  than  99.5  per  cent,  while  the  highest  grade 
cannot  possibly  exceed  99.9  per  cent,  a  difference  of  only  four- 
tenths  of  one  per  cent,  hence  it  is  evident  that  all  refined  sugars 
are  practically  pure,  the'fancy  package  simply  meaning  a  fancy 
price. 

The  methods  of  transporting  and  handling  the  sugar  after 
it  leaves  the  refinery  may  justify  the  additional  expense,  but 
this  is  subject  to  argument.  However,  it  makes  but  little  differ- 
ence to  the  manufacturer,  as  the  cost  of  the  package  as  well  as 
the  extra  handling  is  always  included  in  the  selling  price. 

A  few  years  ago  all  sugar  went  out  in  barrels  or  bags,  while 
today  a  modern  refinery  turns  out  about  twenty  different  styles 
of  container,  and  twenty-four  kinds  of  sugar.  It  is  obvious, 
therefore,  that  the  packing  room  of  a  refinery  is  an  interesting 
place,  covering  as  it  does  a  large  area  and  including  a  great 
amount  of  special,  intricate  machinery  for  filling,  weighing  and 
sewing  or  sealing  packages. 

In  the  bottom  of  the  bins  into  which  the  sugar  is  delivered 
from  the  separators  is  a  series  of  galvanized  iron  pipes,  through 
which  the  sugar  runs  to  the  various  filling  devices,  the  latter  be- 
ing usually  arranged  in  long  rows.  Under  the  end  of  each  pipe 
is  an  automatic  weighing  machine.  In  packing  bags,  a  work- 
man hangs  a  bag  on  the  weighing  machine  and  presses  a  lever, 
thus  allowing  the  sugar  to  run  into  the  bag.  As  soon  as  the  ex- 
act amount  required  is  reached,  the  flow  is  automatically  cut 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  75 

off.  These  weighing  machines  are  so  accurate  that  they  gauge 
the  amount  to  within  a  fraction  of  an  ounce.  The  operative  re- 
moves the  full  bag,  places  it  on  a  conveyor  that  runs  in  and 
level  with  the  floor  and  quickly  adjusts  an  empty  one  on  the 
weighing  machine.  These  men  become  so  expert  that  a  single 
operative  will  fill  two  hundred  and  fifty  one-hundred-pound 
bags  per  hour.  The  weighing  machines  are  designed  to  fill  and 
weigh  four  hundred  and  eighty  one-hundred-pound  bags  per 
hour,  but  the  operative  cannot  handle  them  at  this  rate. 

Four  sewing  machines,  specially  designed  for  sewing  the 
filled  bags,  are  located  immediately  over  the  conveyor  and  in 
direct  line  with  it.  As  the  bag  passes  along  on  the  conveyor,  the 
operative  at  the  first  machine  picks  up  the  end  of  the  inner  cot- 
ton sack  and  passes  it  through  his  machine,  stitching  it  securely. 
The  bag  then  passes  along  to  the  third  machine,  where  the  oper- 
ative takes  hold  of  the  outer  burlap  bag  and  sews  it  in  the  same 
manner.  Each  operative  has  a  spare  machine  ready  for  instant 
use  in  case  the  one  he  is  running  gets  out  of  order.  Continuing 
its  journey  to  the  end  of  the  conveyor,  the  bag  is  deposited  on 
the  main  belt  conveyor,  which  takes  it  without  manual  aid  to 
the  shipping  floor  or  the  storage  warehouse.  A  sewing-machine 
operative  will  sew  as  many  as  seventeen  bags  per  minute,  but  it 
is  trying  work  and  the  men  relieve  each  other  at  intervals  dur- 
ing the  day.  Both  the  one-hundred-  and  the  forty-eight-pound 
sacks  are  handled  in  this  manner.  Formerly  the  half  sacks 
weighed  fifty  pounds,  but  since  the  Parcel  Post  law  went  into 
effect  they  have  been  changed  to  forty-eight  pounds  to  permit 
of  their  shipment  by  mail.  Those  containing  twenty-five,  ten, 
five  and  two  pounds  are  weighed  and  sewed  in  much  the  same 
way,  by  the  aid  of  specially  designed,  rapid-handling  ma- 
chinery. The  small  package  machines  will  accurately  weigh  and 
fill  five-pound  bags  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five  packages  per  min- 
ute, the  others  in  proportion. 


76  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

The  paper  boxes,  or  cartons  as  they  are  called,  are  weighed 
and  filled  by  special  machinery.  This  machinery  seems  to  pos- 
sess an  intelligence  almost  human.  One  girl  feeds  the  cartons 
(the  tops  and  bottoms  of  which  are  open)  into  the  machine  at 
the  rate  of  thirty-two  per  minute.  The  machine  glues  the  bot- 
tom, weighs  the  sugar  to  within  one  thirty-second  of  an  ounce, 
fills  the  carton,  glues  the  top,  seals  it  and  passes  it  on  to  a 
conveyor  which  delivers  the  finished  package  to  a  table,  from 
which  it  is  packed  into  a  box  for  shipment.  Women  are  usually 
employed  in  putting  up  the  lighter  packages. 

A  short  distance  from  the  bag-weighing  machines,  and  run- 
ning parallel  with  them,  is  a  line  of  pipes  or  spouts  for  filling 
barrels.  On  the  floor  under  each  spout  is  a  barrel  shaker.  This 
is  a  heavy  cast-iron  plate  that  is  lifted  about  one  inch,  first  on 
one  side,  then  on  the  other,  by  the  action  of  two  cams  or  arms 
attached  to  a  revolving  shaft  underneath.  The  shaker  drops 
back  violently  on  the  supporting  frame  after  each  lift,  causing 
the  sugar  to  settle  compactly  in  the  barrel  as  it  is  filled  to  an 
average  weight  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  Naturally, 
the  greater  the  amount  of  sugar  packed  in  a  barrel,  the  less  the 
container  costs  per  unit  of  output,  and  as  the  average  cost  of 
a  sugar  barrel  in  the  United  States  is  fifty  cents,  the  container 
cost  per  one  hundred  pounds  of  sugar  is  14.3  cents. 

Without  the  shaker,  not  more  than  three  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds  of  sugar  could  be  put  in  a  barrel,  which  would  increase 
the  cost  per  one  hundred  pounds  to  15.1  cents.  This  difference 
on  a  single  day's  output  of  two  million  pounds  represents  one 
hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  an  eloquent  argument  in  favor  of  the 
shaker. 

In  packing  barrels,  the  operative  first  lines  the  barrel  with 
heavy  paper  to  prevent  the  sugar  from  coming  in  contact  with 
the  rough  wooden  sides  and  to  keep  it  from  sifting  out  be- 
tween»the  staves.  The  barrel,  thus  lined,  is  placed  on  the  shaker, 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  77 

a  valve  on  the  spout  opened  and  the  shaking  barrel  filled  to  the 
top.  The  barrel  is  then  removed  and  turned  over  to  the  cooper, 
who  heads  it  up  and  rolls  it  on  the  scale  for  weighing. 

Before  an  empty  barrel  reaches  the  packing  room,  it  is 
weighed  and  the  weight  (generally  from  nineteen  to  twenty- 
five  pounds)  is  stamped  on  its  side.  The  gross  weight  of  the 
filled  barrel  is  determined  by  the  packing-room  scales.  The 
weight  of  the  empty  barrel  is  deducted  and  the  net  weight  of 
the  sugar  stenciled  on  the  head.  The  full  barrel  is  then  sent 
down  a  chute  to  the  waiting  freight  car  or  to  the  dock  for 
steamer  shipment,  or  to  a  conveyor  that  automatically  delivers 
it  to  the  storage  warehouse. 

In  addition  to  the  bags,  barrels,  half  barrels,  cartons  and 
boxes,  tins  of  various  sizes  are  used  for  the  different  sugars.  All 
of  these  are  filled  and  weighed  automatically,  and  taken  from 
the  packing  room  by  conveyors.  Some  of  the  boxes  are  lined 
with  paper  and  some  with  cotton  cloth ;  some  are  nailed  up  in 
the  ordinary  way,  and  others  are  strapped  with  iron  at  each 
end.  As  a  rule,  the  individual  tins  are  cased  with  wood,  but 
sometimes  there  are  a  number  of  tins  in  a  case.  Cartons  contain 
two  pounds,  three  pounds  or  five  pounds  of  sugar.  They  are 
packed  in  fiber  cases  holding  thirty  twos,  twenty  threes  or 
twelve  fives  and  also  in  wooden  cases  which  hold  sixty  twos, 
forty  threes  or  twenty-four  fives  each.  The  style  of  package  de- 
pends upon  the  demand  of  the  trade  catered  to. 

At  this  point  a  word  or  two  about  some  of  the  specialties, 
such  as  cube,  powdered  and  bar  sugars,  as  well  as  yellow  or 
soft  sugars,  may  be  of  interest. 

CUBE  SUGAR 

The  sugar  from  which  the  cubes  are  made  is  of  a  rather  fine 
grain,  boiled  in  special  pans  from  liquor  that  has  been  filtered 
over  the  char  at  least  twice.  From  the  centrifugals  under  the 


78  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

pan  it  falls  into  a  hopper  in  which  there  is  a  revolving  screw. 
Directly  over  the  screw  is  a  tank  containing  a  warm,  white 
sugar  liquor,  very  sticky  and  viscous  by  reason  of  its  density. 
A  pipe  leads  from  the  bottom  of  this  tank  to  a  point  over  the 
screw,  and  the  liquor,  which  is  controlled  by  a  valve,  is  allowed 
to  drip  upon  the  sugar.  The  action  of  the  screw  causes  the  sugar 
and  the  liquor  to  become  thoroughly  mixed  and  feeds  the  damp 
mass  thus  formed  into  a  spout  leading  to  the  cube  press,  the 
machine  in  which  cube  sugar  is  made. 

At  the  top  of  this  machine  is  another  hopper,  into  which  the 
damp  sugar  drops  from  the  spout  overhead,  and  revolving  in 
the  last-mentioned  hopper  are  a  number  of  small  shafts  with 
brass  pegs  inserted  at  certain  intervals  along  the  length  of  the 
shafts,  like  spokes  in  the  hub  of  a  wheel.  These  pegs  are  like 
human  fingers  in  their  action  and  they  press  the  sugar  down 
into  the  pockets  of  a  large  revolving  drum  placed  directly  under 
the  hopper.  Each  pocket  is  the  size  of  a  cube  or  half  cube.  Work- 
ing in  these  pockets  are  plungers,  which  fall  back  as  the  revolv- 
ing drum  reaches  the  highest  point  directly  under  the  mechani- 
cal fingers  in  the  hopper.  The  fingers  fill  the  open  pockets  and, 
as  the  drum  turns,  the  plungers,  at  a  certain  point  in  its  circum- 
ference where  a  heavy  bronze  bar  is  placed  across  its  face, 
slowly  enter  the  pockets  and  in  so  doing  compress  the  sugar 
into  cube  form. 

Two  belts  run  through  the  machine  under  the  cylinder,  car- 
rying galvanized  iron  plates  about  twenty-four  inches  wide,  or 
the  same  width  as  the  cylinder,  and  thirty  inches  long.  As  the 
line  of  pockets  into  which  the  sugar  has  been  pressed  reaches 
the  lowest  point  on  the  circumference  of  the  drum,  the  plungers 
drop  down,  forcing  the  pressed  cubes  out  of  the  pockets  onto 
the  galvanized  iron  plates  which  the  moving  belt  carries  along 
out  of  the  way  of  the  next  lot  coming  from  the  cylinder.  Each 
plate,  as  it  leaves  the  cube  press,  contains  five  hundred  and  four 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  79 

cubes  and  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  half  cubes,  and  the  time 
required  to  fill  a  plate  is  between  six  and  seven  seconds. 

The  belts  carry  the  plates  to  a  series  of  ovens,  or  driers,  so 
placed  that  a  large  number  of  plates  with  their  contents  may 
be  inserted  through  a  door  on  the  belt  side.  When  the  ovens 
are  filled  with  plates  holding  the  soft,  moist  cubes,  a  current  of 
hot  air  is  turned  on  at  the  top  of  the  ovens,  passing  out  at  the 
bottom.  The  hot  air  circulating  in  this  manner  dries  the  cubes 
and  carries  off  the  moisture.  Eight  hours  in  the  ovens  suffice  to 
render  the  cubes  thoroughly  dry  and  hard.  They  are  then  re- 
moved through  doors  opposite  to  those  through  which  they 
were  put  in.  This  arrangement  prevents  the  men  who  are  put- 
ting the  cubes  into  the  ovens  from  interfering  with  those  tak- 
ing them  out,  for  the  process  is  a  continuous  one  and  cubes  are 
placed  in  and  removed  from  the  ovens  at  the  same  time.  As 
the  cubes  are  taken  out  of  the  ovens,  they  are  deposited  on 
a  belt  conveyor  which  delivers  them  into  bins  in  the  packing 
room,  ready  to  be  put  into  boxes,  bags,  barrels  and  other  con- 
tainers. 

POWDERED  AND  BAR  SUGAR 

Powdered  and  bar  sugars  are  made  by  grinding  coarse  granu- 
lated sugar  into  fine  particles  and  then  separating  these  par- 
ticles by  screening  them  through  fine  silk  cloth.  The  bolting  of 
flour  is  a  similar  process.  Powdered  sugar  has  a  decided  tend- 
ency to  cake  and  become  hard,  and  the  coarse  sugar  from  which 
it  is  ground  should  be  particularly  free  from  moisture.  After  be- 
ing crushed  or  ground  between  corrugated  rolls  turning  at  high 
speed,  the  ground  sugar  passes  into  a  screening  or  sifting  de- 
vice, of  which  there  are  many  kinds  in  use,  the  most  common 
being  the  horizontal,  revolving  centrifugal  screen.  The  crushed 
sugar  goes  in  at  the  head  end,  and,  as  it  enters,  a  number  of  re- 
volving arms  throw  it  against  a  silk  screen  on  a  circular  frame, 


80  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

revolving  in  an  opposite  direction,  that  permits  the  finest,  or 
powdered,  sugar  to  pass  through  a  silk  cloth  having  over  six- 
teen thousand  openings  per  square  inch. 

The  powdered  sugar  extracted,  the  remainder  drops  into  an- 
other screen  where  a  similar  sifting  action  takes  place,  the  silk 
of  the  second  screen  being  coarser  than  that  of  the  first,  and 
bar  sugar  is  the  result.  Such  grains  as  are  too  large  to  pass 
through  the  bar  screen  are  carried  back  to  the  rolls  and  re- 
ground.  The  bar  screen  has  about  five  thousand  openings  per 
square  inch. 

Bar  sugar,  as  the  name  implies,  is  generally  used  in  prepar- 
ing beverages.  It  dissolves  almost  instantly  when  dropped  in 
water.  Singularly  enough,  the  average  housewife  is  not  aware 
of  the  advantages  attending  the  use  of  this  grade  of  sugar. 
It  does  not  become  caked  as  readily  as  powdered  sugar  does, 
and  is  the  ideal  sweetening  for  berries  and  cereals  served  at 
the  breakfast  meal.  It  is  far  more  desirable  than  powdered 
sugar  for  most  of  the  purposes  for  which  the  latter  is  commonly 
used. 

It  is  believed  by  many  that  all  powdered  sugar  is  adulterated 
with  chalk,  starch,  white  corn  meal  or  similar  substances.  Such 
is  not  the  case,  and  it  is  safe  to  assume  that  no  mixing  whatever 
is  done  by  any  refiner  in  America.  Powdered  sugar  has  a  strong 
tendency  to  cake  or  become  hard,  and  some  manufacturers 
who  buy  coarse  granulated  sugar  from  the  refiners  for  grind- 
ing purposes  use  starch  to  the  extent  of  from  two  to  three  per 
cent.  Chalk  is  never  used,  nor  are  other  non-edible  or  deleterious 
substances.  Starch  is  not  introduced  for  the  purpose  of  making 
a  greater  profit,  but  to  prevent  the  powdered  sugar  from  cak- 
ing. The  adding  of  starch,  in  all  probability,  increases  the  cost 
of  making  powdered  sugar,  as  starch  costs  almost  as  much  as 
sugar,  and  the  expense  of  handling  it  and  feeding  it  into  the 
grinding  machinery  is  quite  an  item. 


FILLING,  WEIGHING  AND  SEWING  2-POUND,  5-POUND  AND  IO-POUND  BAGS 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  8l 

YELLOW  SUGARS 

Yellow  sugars,  or  "softs"  as  they  are  usually  called,  comprise 
fifteen  grades,  ranging  in  color  from  a  creamy  white  to  a  dark 
brown.  These  sugars  are  used  chiefly  by  bakers  in  making  gin- 
ger-bread, pies  and  cakes,  although  a  small  quantity  finds  its 
way  directly  into  households  for  ordinary  domestic  consump- 
tion. 

The  characteristics  of  yellow  sugars  are  that  they  have  a 
small  grain  and  contain  a  sufficient  amount  of  molasses  to 
make  them  moist  to  the  touch,  properties  brought  about  by  a 
radically  different  method  of  boiling  from  that  applied  to  white 
sugars.  They  also  contain  a  certain  amount  of  invert  sugar 
which  preserves  the  softness  of  grain  and  prevents  subsequent 
caking  or  hardening. 

To  properly  explain  how  yellow  sugars  are  boiled,  reference 
must  be  made  to  the  method  of  boiling  white  sugars,  which 
may  be  briefly  summarized  as  follows : 

The  object  to  be  attained  in  boiling  white  sugars  is  the  sep- 
aration of  the  crystallizable  sucrose  contained  in  a  given  solu- 
tion from  the  impurities,  moisture  and  non-crystallizable  con- 
tent of  that  solution.  The  formation  of  sugar  crystals  is  a  nat- 
ural result  of  the  evaporation  of  the  moisture  from  the  liquor 
or  solution.  In  order  to  obtain  pure  white  crystals,  it  is  vitally 
essential  that,  as  far  as  possible,  all  impurities  and  non-sugars, 
except  water,  be  removed  from  the  liquor  before  the  boiling 
takes  place,  for  if  the  coloring  matter  is  not  thoroughly  taken 
out,  obviously  the  crystals  will  be  colored.  The  purifying  and 
decolorizing  operation  is  accomplished  in  the  char  filters.  After 
the  grain  is  once  formed  in  definite  crystals,  these  crystals  at- 
tract and  appropriate  the  sucrose  in  solution  in  the  process  of 
building  up  their  structure,  while  repelling  or  excluding  the  im- 
purities, so  that  in  consequence  the  latter  remain  in  solution. 
Irrespective,  however,  of  whether  crystallization  of  sucrose  takes 


82  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

place  in  solutions  of  high  or  low  purity,  it  will  only  partially  re- 
move the  sucrose  from  the  solution  in  one  operation,  the  limit 
being  fixed  by  the  amount  and  nature  of  impurities  present.  In 
order  to  bring  about  further  crystallization  of  sucrose  the  solu- 
tion or  mother  liquor  surrounding  the  crystals  must  be  sepa- 
rated from  them  and  be  again  diluted,  filtered  and  concentrated. 

Briefly,  the  procedure  in  boiling  white  sugar  in  a  vacuum  pan 
is  to  take  liquors  of  the  highest  purity  for  the  first  boiling.  After 
the  first  crystals  have  been  removed  from  the  mother  liquor  in 
the  centrifugal  machines,  the  liquor  is  again  diluted,  decolor- 
ized by  bone-char  and  boiled  to  grain.  This  operation  is  con- 
tinued a  number  of  times,  the  purity  of  the  liquor  decreasing 
each  time.  Finally,  when  the  purity  of  the  liquor  falls  to  a  cer- 
tain point,  the  boiling  is  discontinued,  for  at  this  point  condi- 
tions do  not  admit  of  further  formation  of  pure  sucrose  crys- 
tals, and,  if-  the  process  were  pursued  further,  the  resulting 
sugar  would  not  be  white.  Therefore,  when  this  state  is  reached, 
these  low-grade  liquors  are  boiled  into  a  semi-refined  sugar, 
commonly  called  "refinery  raw,"  which  corresponds  fairly 
closely  in  test  with  the  original  raw  sugar,  or  they  are  used  for 
making  soft  yellow  sugars  as  explained  later  on.  This  refinery 
raw  is  then  washed,  melted  and  put  through  the  whole  process 
all  over  again.  The  liquor,  from  which  the  crystals  formed  in 
repeated  boilings  have  been  removed  as  made,  at  length  be- 
comes so  charged  with  impurities  that  further  crystallization 
of  sucrose  is  impossible  and  this  residue,  or  final  waste,  is 
known  as  blackstrap  molasses. 

This  manner  of  boiling  white  sugar  has  been  called  the 
"out  and  out"  method,  in  contradistinction  to  the  "in  and  in" 
method  employed  in  boiling  soft  yellow  sugars,  of  which  a  few 
words  of  explanation  now  follow. 

In  boiling  soft  yellow  sugars,  the  aim  is  to  produce  a  large 
number  of  small  sucrose  crystals  having  the  property  of  at- 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  83 

trading  and  combining  with  the  molasses  content  of  the  liquor 
and  that  will  retain  some  of  the  molasses  after  they  are  purged 
of  mother  liquor  in  the  centrifugal  machines.  This  process  gives 
a  sugar  that  may  be  described  as  a  mechanical  mixture  of  su- 
crose, invert  sugar  and  the  non-sugars  in  the  molasses. 

In  the  case  of  yellow  sugars,  the  lighter  the  color  the  better 
price  they  bring.  The  greatest  profit,  therefore,  is  derived  from 
the  manufacture  of  sugars  of  the  lightest  color  and  carrying  a 
reduced  percentage  of  sucrose.  In  boiling  such  sugars,  low- 
purity  liquors  from  which  the  coloring  matter  has  been  re- 
moved as  far  as  practicable  by  bone-char  filtration  are  required. 
For  the  purpose,  it  is  generally  found  most  advantageous  to  use 
the  liquors  taken  from  white  sugar  massecuite  at  the  point 
when,  owing  to  repeated  boilings,  its  purity  has  fallen  so  low  that 
further  extraction  of  pure  white  sucrose  crystals  is  impossible. 

As  a  result  of  the  numerous  filtrations  through  bone-char 
preparatory  to  reboiling  in  the  manufacture  of  white  sugar, 
these  liquors  are  usually  lighter  in  color  than  any  of  corre- 
sponding purity  obtained  in  the  refining  process.  Nevertheless, 
they  are  not  necessarily  the  only  liquors  suitable  for  the  pur- 
pose, and  this  particularly  applies  to  the  making  of  the  lower 
grades  of  yellow  sugars.  It  is,  however,  beyond  the  scope  of 
this  book  to  elaborate  upon  that  phase  of  sugar  refining.  The 
object  sought  here  is  to  give  a  general  idea  of  how  yellow 
sugars  are  boiled,  without  going  into  all  the  details. 

As  is  the  case  with  white  sugars,  yellow  sugars  are  made  by 
a  succession  of  boilings  in  vacuum  pans,  the  liquor  used  for 
each  boiling  or  strike  being  that  obtained  from  the  massecuite 
of  the  previous  strike.  The  operation  is  continued  until  the 
liquor  becomes  too  low  in  purity  and  dark  in  color.  Each  suc- 
cessive strike  boiled  is  lower  in  test  than  the  preceding  one,  due 
to  the  fact  that  the  sucrose  crystals  represent  the  purest  part  of 
the  massecuite,  and,  consequently,  each  time  they  are  removed 


84  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

the  quality  of  the  liquor  is  lowered.  This  accounts  for  the  vari- 
ous grades  of  yellow  sugar  that  are  made,  fifteen  in  all,  starting 
with  a  creamy  white  and  ending  with  a  dark  brown.  The  su- 
crose content  of  the  best  is  about  92  per  cent  and  that  of  the 
poorest  about  80  per  cent. 

In  making  white  sugars,  the  aim  is  to  produce  from  liquors  of 
high  purity  sucrose  crystals  that  are  pure  white,  hard  and  ab- 
solutely free  from  molasses. 

In  making  yellow  sugars,  the  object  is  to  boil  from  low- 
purity  liquors  soft  sucrose -crystals  that  possess  the  property  of 
attracting  and  retaining  the  molasses  and  to  make  this  com- 
bination of  crystals  and  molasses  as  complete  as  possible. 

The  essential  difference  between  the  two  methods,  as  well  as 
the  appropriateness  of  the  descriptive  terms  "out  and  out"  and 
"in  and  in,"  will  be  readily  apparent. 

The  impurities  in  yellow  sugars  are  natural  and  consist  of  in- 
vert sugar,  glucose,  organic  non-sugars  and  salts,  all  of  which 
were  originally  present  in  the  raws  or  were  formed  in  the  pro- 
cess of  refining. 

It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  it  said  that  yellow  sugars  are 
sweeter  than  granulated.  To  the  average  palate  this  is  appar- 
ently so,  but,  as  has  been  shown,  granulated  sugar  contains 
99.8  per  cent  of  sucrose  or  sweetening  matter,  while  the  high- 
est grade  of  yellow  carries  only  92  per  cent.  Soft  sugars  dis- 
solve more  readily  on  the  tongue  than  granulated,  and  the 
syrup  or  molasses  in  them  accentuates  their  sweet  taste. 

There  are  several  other  grades  of  sugar  prepared  for  the  con- 
suming market,  but  lack  of  space  precludes  a  description  of 
them  or  the  methods  by  which  they  are  produced. 

MECHANICAL  DEPARTMENT 

It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  conveying,  melting,  filtering,  boil- 
ing, drying,  screening,  weighing  and  packing  of  one  thousand 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  85 

tons  of  sugar  in  twenty-four  hours  necessitates  a  great  amount 
of  steam  and  a  multiplicity  of  machinery. 

The  boilers  generate  steam  to  drive  huge  pumps  that  deliver 
cold  salt  water  to  the  condensers  throughout  the  refinery,  to 
drive  vacuum  pumps  that  make  boiling  and  evaporation  in 
vacuo  possible,  and  to  drive  large  turbine  or  reciprocating  en- 
gines that  supply  the  electric  power.  The  exhaust  steam  as  it 
leaves  the  cylinders  has  a  pressure  of  about  fifteen  pounds  per 
square  inch.  It  is  conducted  through  pipes  to  the  evaporators, 
pans,  driers  and  tanks,  where  it  is  again  used  for  concentrating 
the  liquors,  boiling  in  the  pans,  drying  the  sugar  and  keeping 
the  liquors  hot  throughout  the  process.  It  leaves  the  various 
heating  coils  and  tubes  as  hot  water  and  is  returned  to  the  boil- 
ers for  the  generation  of  more  steam. 

Live  steam,  that  is  to  say,  steam  just  as  it  comes  from  the 
boilers,  is  used  extensively  in  the  vacuum  pans  for  boiling  the 
liquor  to  grain. 

A  refinery  melting  one  thousand  tons  of  raw  sugar  each  day 
requires  about  5500  boiler  horse  power.  On  the  Atlantic  coast 
coal  is  the  fuel  used,  while  on  the  Pacific  coast  oil  is  burned. 
The  amount  of  fuel  consumed  in  different  refineries  varies  to 
some  extent,  but  a  fair  average  per  ton  of  raw  sugar  melted  is 
one  and  one-third  barrels  of  oil,  or  one-third  of  a  ton  of  coal. 

In  modern  plants  all  the  moving  machinery,  except  the 
pumps  and  main  engines,  is  usually  driven  by  electric  motors. 
This  does  away  with  many  dangerous  belts,  as  well  as  expen- 
sive transmission  machinery.  The  motor  drive  is  simple  and 
efficient  and  therefore  used  extensively. 

The  mechanical  department  is  under  the  general  supervision 
of  the  superintendent,  but  in  direct  charge  of  a  mechanical-elec- 
trical engineer.  This  man  is  known  as  the  chief  engineer,  and  he 
is  directly  responsible,  not  only  for  the  operation  of  all  the  ma- 
chinery in  the  plant  together  with  its  up-keep  and  repair,  but 


86  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

he  has  also  to  cope  with  engineering  problems  that  are  con- 
stantly arising.  Under  his  direction,  a  corps  of  draughtsmen 
is  always  busily  engaged  in  planning  and  designing  improve- 
ments and  additions.  He  also  maintains  a  force  of  mechan- 
ics, watching,  operating  and  repairing  the  machinery.  These 
men  represent  almost  every  trade,  including  machinists,  black- 
smiths, coppersmiths,  tinsmiths,  millwrights,  boilermakers,  rig- 
gers, masons,  painters  and  many  others. 

The  diversity  of  the  mechanical  work  around  a  refinery  is 
remarkable,  and  the  engineer  in  charge  must  be  a  man  of  ex- 
ceptional mechanical  ability,  as  his  duties  include  not  only 
steam,  electrical  and  civil  engineering,  but  construction  engi- 
neering of  an  advanced  character.  As  refineries  are  always  built 
on  sites  bordering  on  deep  water,  harbor  engineering  problems 
are  also  constantly  before  him. 

In  connection  with  every  refinery  there  are  many  shops, 
where  mechanical  work  incidental  to  repairs  and  construction 
is  carried  on.  These  shops  are  equipped  with  the  necessary  tools 
and  implements  for  quick  repairs  and  are  under  the  supervision 
of  the  chief  engineer.  In  addition,  there  is  the  cooper  shop 
where  many  thousands  of  barrels  are  turned  out  daily,  and  the 
bag  factory  where  twenty  cotton  bags  and  twenty  burlap  bags 
must  be  made  for  each  and  every  ton  of  output  packed  in  that 
manner. 

The  mechanical  department  of  a  modern  refinery  is  as  im- 
portant as  it  is  extensive,  for  failure  in  any  one  of  its  branches 
means  costly  delays.  The  machinery  is  run  twenty-four  hours 
each  day,  except  Sundays,  during  about  eleven  months  in  the 
year.  The  plant  is  closed  down  the  remaining  thirty  days  for 
annual  cleaning  and  repairs. 

Intelligence  and  ability,  tempered  with  good  judgment, 
bring  about  the  esprit  de  corps  that  gives  the  necessary  results. 
The  mechanical  is  almost  as  important  as  the  chemical  depart- 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  87 

ment  and,  as  before  stated,  it  is  subject  to  the  general  super- 
vision of  the  chemical  engineer. 

LABORATORY 

The  chemical  laboratory  is  really  the  heart  of  the  institution, 
for  upon  it  depends  the  success  of  every  manufacturing  opera- 
tion. The  superintendent  of  a  refinery  must  possess  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  chemical  engineering,  for  the  process  of  sugar 
refining  is  largely  chemical  from  beginning  to  end. 

Competent  chemical  engineers,  as  distinguished  from  chem- 
ists, are  rare,  and  yet  their  calling  offers  more  promising  pros- 
pects to  young  men  than  most  other  professions  do  today.  It  is 
clear  to  the  intelligent  observer  that  in  these  times  of  intensely 
keen  competition,  the  manufacturer  will,  sooner  or  later,  in- 
evitably be  driven  to  seek  a  considerable  percentage  of  his 
profits  in  the  utilization  of  by-products  that  now  go  to  waste  or 
bring  but  little  return.  The  men  to  solve  the  manufacturing 
problems  of  the  future  will  be  chemical  engineers.  Broadly 
speaking,  comparatively  little  has  been  done  in  this  field  in  the 
United  States,  and  its  possibilities  are  incalculable. 

In  the  laboratory,  day  and  night,  a  corps  of  chemists  is  con- 
stantly engaged  in  the  study  of  questions  that  arise  in  connec- 
tion with  the  operation  of  the  various  departments.  Polariza- 
tions for  account  of  buyers  and  sellers  of  all  raw  sugars  pur- 
chased, are  made  and  checked  there;  hundreds  of  samples  of 
liquors  and  syrups  are  tested  daily  for  control  work,  as  the 
purity  of  both  must  be  known  at  all  times  and  a  record  kept  of 
their  temperatures  and  densities.  Samples  of  all  the  sugars  en- 
tering the  refining  process,  as  well  as  of  the  finished  product, 
are  carefully  analyzed,  and  upon  these  analyses  are  based  elab- 
orate calculations  regarding  yield  and  efficiency.  The  wash 
waters  from  the  char  filters  are  examined  and  tested  frequently, 
the  bone-char  is  tested  every  twenty-four  hours  as  a  check  upon 


88  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

the  process  of  revivification  in  the  kilns,  and  once  a  month  the 
bone-char  is  completely  analyzed  to  determine  the  deteriora- 
tion that  has  taken  place  in  it. 

Tests  are  made  of  materials  used  in  the  refining  process,  such 
as  lime,  soda,  acids  and  lubricating  oils;  of  the  feed  water  for 
the  steam  boilers ;  of  the  fresh  water  used  throughout  the  plant ; 
and  of  the  fuel,  whether  coal  or  oil.  Even  the  gases  from  the 
fires  under  the  boilers  are  tested  as  they  pass  through  the 
smokestack,  in  order  to  determine  whether  or  not  the  firemen 
perform  their  duties  properly. 

Taking  all  this  in  conjunction  with  frequent  tests  and  experi- 
mental work  on  driers,  condensers,  evaporators  and  other  ap- 
paratus, it  will  be  seen  that  there  is  plenty  to  keep  a  large  staff 
of  chemists  fully  occupied. 

In  refinery  work,  what  is  to  be  feared  more  than  anything  is 
the  house  becoming  "sour."  Raw  sugars  and  sugar  liquors,  and 
particularly  the  sweet  waters,  have  a  tendency  to  ferment,  and 
fermentation,  like  fire,  if  not  checked  and  brought  under  control 
before  it  gains  much  headway,  soon  pervades  the  entire  estab- 
lishment, affecting  all  the  liquors  and  syrups,  thus  turning  the 
sucrose  or  sugar  into  glucose,  which  cannot  be  recrystallized. 
In  a  refinery  of  two  million  pounds  daily  capacity,  there  is 
double  this  quantity  of  sugar  in  the  house  in  the  form  of  liquors, 
syrups,  sweet  water,  massecuite  and  raws.  If  all  of  this  four  mil- 
lion pounds  turned  "sour/'  the  money  loss,  with  raw  sugar 
worth  four  cents  a  pound,  would  be  about  one  hundred  and  sixty 
thousand  dollars.  Such  a  contingency,  while  remote,  clearly 
demonstrates  that  chemical  control  is  an  absolute  necessity. 

COST  OF  REFINING 

In  concluding  that  part  of  the  story  that  deals  with  refining, 
some  reference  may  be  made  to  the  refining  cost  and  to  the 
price  at  which  refined  sugar  is  sold. 


REFINING  OF  RAW  SUGAR  gg 

The  cost  of  refining  sugar  varies  in  different  parts  of  the 
United  States  on  account  of  the  difference  in  the  cost  of  com- 
modities entering  into  the  refining  process,  such  as  labor,  fuel, 
cotton,  burlap,  containers,  bone-char,  etc.  On  the  Pacific  coast 
nearly  all  these  items  are  higher  than  in  New  York,  and  conse- 
quently the  cost  of  refining  is  probably  greater. 

In  1911  nearly  all  the  sugar  refiners  of  the  United  States  ap- 
peared before  the  Hardwick  Congressional  committee  at  Wash- 
ington and  the  testimony  given  by  them  before  that  body 
showed  that  the  cost  of  refining  ranged  from  60  cents  to  65 
cents  per  100  pounds. 

On  the  day  the  Congressional  committee  began  its  investi- 
gation, raw  sugar  was  selling  in  New  York  for  3.86  cents  per 
pound,  and  the  testimony  regarding  the  cost  of  refining  was  no 
doubt  based  on  this  price  for  the  raw  sugar  entering  the  refin- 
ing operations. 

It  is  therefore  fair  to  assume  that  under  normal  conditions, 
with  raw  sugar  at  about  3^4  cents,  the  average  cost  of  refining 
in  the  United  States  is  62^/2  cents  per  100  pounds.  This  includes 
every  item  from  the  time  the  raw  sugar  is  landed  on  the  dock 
until  the  refined  is  loaded  on  the  cars  or  boats  for  shipment.  It 
includes  the  selling  and  overhead  expenses,  but  not  the  trans- 
portation charges  after  the  sugar  leaves  the  refinery. 

During  the  last  six  years  (1909-14  inclusive)  the  actual  dif- 
ferential in  the  United  States  between  the  purchase  price  of  raw 
sugar  and  the  selling  price  of  refined  has  been  82%  cents  per 
100  pounds.  The  difference  between  this  figure  and  the  cost  of 
refining  represents  the  refiner's  gross  profit;  in  other  words, 
about  20  cents  per  100  pounds,  out  of  which  he  must  pay  for  all 
additions  and  improvements  to  his  plant.  The  remainder  is 
available  for  returns  on  capital  invested.  This  difference  varies 
with  the  time  of  year  and  in  different  localities,  but  the  average 
will  probably  hold  good. 


90  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

A  refiner  of  cane  sugar  buys  his  raw  product  in  the  open 
market  and  must  pay  for  all  his  operating  and  administration 
expenses  and  obtain  his  profit  from  the  margin  between  the 
buying  price  of  raw  and  the  selling  price  of  refined  sugar.  The 
cost  of  refining  is  not  constant,  as  it  varies  with  the  fluctuating 
values  of  fuel,  containers,  labor,  and  particularly  the  cost  of 
raw  sugar.  If  it  costs  62^  cents  per  100  pounds  to  refine  sugar 
with  raws  at  3.86  cents  per  pound,  it  will  cost  about  82^  cents 
per  100  pounds  with  raw  sugars  at  6  cents,  assuming  that  such 
items  as  fuel,  containers,  labor,  etc.,  remain  constant.  This  is 
due  to  the  greater  value  of  the  raw  sugar  lost  in  refining,  to  the 
heavier  insurance  premiums  and  higher  interest  charges.  With 
high-priced  raws,  the  margin  between  raws  and  refined  must 
be  proportionately  greater  to  offset  the  increased  cost  of  re- 
fining. 

The  refiner,  like  the  consumer,  would  prefer  to  see  sugar 
selling  on  a  low  basis,  while  the  producer  always  hopes  for  the 
opposite. 


SHIPPING  DEPARTMENT 

HERE  will  be  found  every  modern  convenience  for  the 
rapid  loading  of  cars  and  steamers.  Adequate  railway 
trackage  is  provided  for  the  handling  of  shipments 
moving  by  rail,  and  on  the  waterfront  side  of  the  warehouses 
there  is  ample  berth  room  for  steamers  that  carry  the  sugar  to 
cities  and  towns  on  the  inland  waterways  and  the  seacoast,  to- 
gether with  points  tributary  thereto.  Facilities  are  also  at  hand 
for  local  delivery  by  drays. 

Railroad  cars  are  sometimes  sent  to  refineries  by  water,  on 
car  barges,  to  be  loaded  with  sugar  and  then  towed  to  what  are 
known  as  railroad  terminals,  where  the  cars  are  taken  from  the 
barges  and  started  on  their  journey  to  destination.  The  capac- 
ity of  a  car  varies  from  twenty-four  thousand  to  one  hundred 
thousand  pounds.  If  an  amount  of  sugar  equal  to  that  con- 
sumed in  the  United  States  in  1915  were  loaded  into  cars  con- 
taining 1000  sacks  of  100  pounds  each,  it  would  require  81,087 
cars,  which  would  make  up  a  train  768  miles  long. 

A  large  part  of  the  product  is  delivered  direct  from  the  pack- 
ing-room conveyors  into  the  waiting  cars  and  steamers,  thus 
avoiding  unnecessary  handling.  A  single  shipment  frequently 
includes  a  number  of  different  styles  of  package,  and  great  care 
must  be  exercised  to  insure  accuracy  in  count  and  description. 

As  dry  granulated  sugar  readily  absorbs  moisture,  every 
precaution  must  be  taken  to  make  the  storage  rooms  thor- 
oughly damp-proof,  so  that  the  sugar  may  always  be  in  good 
condition  when  shipped  from  the  refinery. 

Shipments  are  made  only  on  written  orders  from  the  sales 
department  to  the  head  of  the  shipping  department.  These  or- 


92  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

ders  set  forth  the  name  of  the  buyer,  the  kinds  and  quantity  of 
sugar  desired,  the  point  to  which  the  sugar  is  to  go,  the  route 
by  which  it  is  to  travel,  the  date  on  which  it  is  to  be  shipped, 
and  the  terms  of  sale.  At  the  proper  time  the  sugar  is  loaded, 
shipped,  and  in  due  course  delivered  to  the  buyer. 


MARKETING 

THE  amount  of  sugar  used  in  the  United  States  in  1915 
was  4,257,714  short  tons.  Of  this,  3,389,175  tons  were 
raw  cane,  the  remainder  consisting  of  861,568  tons  of 
domestic  beet  and  6,971  tons  of  foreign  refined  cane  and  beet. 
Of  the  3,389,175  tons  of  raw  cane,  150,000  tons  were  consumed 
in  the  raw  state,  and  from  the  remainder,  3,239,175  tons,  about 
3,044,825  tons  of  refined  sugar  were  produced.  The  per  capita 
consumption  was  83.83  pounds,  and  was  made  up  of: 

SHORT  TONS      PER  CENT 

Refined  made  from  raw  cane  3,044,825  74.94 

Domestic  and  foreign  beet  862,694  21.23 

Foreign  refined  cane  5,845  .14    . 

Consumed  in  the  raw  state  150,000  3.69 


4,063,364     100.00 

Among  articles  of  food  that  contain  a  large  percentage  of 
sugar  are  jams,  jellies,  chocolate,  canned  fruits,  condensed 
milk,  confectionery,  chewing  gum  and  cordials.  It  is  estimated 
by  Willett  &  Gray  that  in  1915  the  direct  per  capita  consump- 
tion was  31.43  pounds,  and  that  the  remaining  52.40  pounds 
were  used  in  various  prepared  or  manufactured  foodstuffs. 
Over  ninety-nine  per  cent  of  all  the  cane  sugar  consumed  in  the 
United  States  is  refined  in  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia, 
New  Orleans  and  San  Francisco.  The  beet  comes  chiefly  from 
California,  Colorado,  Michigan,  Utah  and  Idaho;  the  maple 
from  the  New  England  states,  Ohio  and  Canada ;  and  the  small 
amount  of  full  duty-paying  foreign  cane  from  Java,  Peru, 
Mexico,  Central  America  and  Santo  Domingo. 


94  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

During  the  past  eleven  years  the  consumption  in  the  United 
States  has  grown  at  an  average  rate  of  3.57  per  cent  per  annum. 
In  1911,  on  account  of  the  abnormally  high  prices,  the  increase 
was  practically  nil. 

The  annual  per  capita  consumption  of  sugar  in  some  of  the 

other  countries  of  the  world  is  as  follows : 

1914 

Servia  4.60  Ibs. 

Greece  8.99  " 

Bulgaria  .  9.94  " 

Italy  10.45  " 

Portugal  13.60  " 

Spain  15.91  " 

Roumania  17.12  " 

Turkey  20.33  " 

Russia  29.26  " 

Finland  32.54  " 

Austria-Hungary  37-38  " 

France  39-OI  " 

Belgium  42-79  " 

Holland  53-44  " 

Norway  60.37  " 

Sweden  60.48  " 

Switzerland  74-87  " 

Germany  74-95  " 

England  89.69  " 

Denmark  93.48  " 

The  sale  and  distribution  of  large  quantities  of  refined  sugar 
is  a  serious  problem  and  just  as  important  as  the  production 
and  the  refining  of  the  raw  product.  Competition  is  so  keen, 
and  the  questions  involved  so  complex,  that  the  sale  of  the 
product  really  results  in  commercial  warfare. 

To  dispose  of  the  output  of  a  large  plant  successfully  re- 


MARKETING  95 

quires  great  intelligence,  a  broad  grasp  of  business  principles, 
strict  honor  and  integrity,  and  prompt,  decisive  action  in  times 
of  fluctuating  markets. 

Sales  managers  of  the  sugar-refining  companies  of  the  United 
States  command  high  salaries,  for  the  success  of  the  business 
depends  to  no  small  extent  upon  their  ability  and  judgment. 
Their  knowledge  of  human  nature  must  be  broad  and  sound 
and  it  is  tested  to  the  utmost  in  their  selection  of  assistants  and 
brokers,  for  representatives  always  reflect  the  ideals,  principles 
and  methods  of  the  parent  authority. 

The  selling  of  sugar  by  the  refiner  direct  to  the  consumer 
has  not  been  found  practicable,  as  an  organization  complete 
enough  to  keep  in  touch  with  consumers  in  every  city,  town 
and  village  of  the  country  would  be  so  top-heavy  and  costly 
to  maintain  that  the  price  of  the  commodity  to  the  consumer 
would  be  needlessly  increased. 

As  matters  stand,  people  living  in  the  frozen  valleys  of 
Alaska,  in  the  scarcely  accessible  regions  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains and  in  the  lumber  and  mining  settlements  of  the  West, 
many  miles  from  railroads,  can  obtain  their  supply  of  sugar 
with  almost  the  same  facility  as  the  residents  of  New  York  or 
San  Francisco.  A  system  of  distribution  that  makes  this  pos- 
sible leaves  little  to  be  desired,  and  a  word  or  two  concerning 
it  will  be  timely  at  this  point. 

Sugar  is  sold  by  the  refiner  to  the  wholesale  grocer  through 
the  medium  of  the  refinery's  broker.  From  the  wholesaler  it 
goes  to  the  retailer,  who  in  turn  delivers  it  to  the  consumer. 

Brokers  are  important  factors  in  distribution.  In  every  large 
city  and  consuming  center,  each  refinery  is  represented  by  its 
own  brokers,  who  keep  in  constant  touch  with  all  the  wholesale 
grocers  and  manufacturers  of  their  district. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  methods,  sound  business 
principles,  diplomatic  talents  of  no  mean  order  and  the  capac- 


94  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

During  the  past  eleven  years  the  consumption  in  the  United 
States  has  grown  at  an  average  rate  of  3.57  per  cent  per  annum. 
In  1911,  on  account  of  the  abnormally  high  prices,  the  increase 
was  practically  nil. 

The  annual  per  capita  consumption  of  sugar  in  some  of  the 

other  countries  of  the  world  is  as  follows: 

1914 

Servia  4.60  Ibs. 

Greece  8.99  " 

Bulgaria  .  9.94  " 

Italy  10.45  " 

Portugal  13.60  " 

Spain  J5-91  " 

Roumania  17.12  " 

Turkey  20.33  " 

Russia  29.26  " 

Finland  32-54  " 

Austria-Hungary  37-38  " 

France  39-OI  " 

Belgium  42.79  " 

Holland  53-44  " 

Norway  60.37  " 

Sweden  60.48  " 

Switzerland  74-87  " 

Germany  74-95  " 

England  89.69  " 

Denmark  93-48  " 

The  sale  and  distribution  of  large  quantities  of  refined  sugar 
is  a  serious  problem  and  just  as  important  as  the  production 
and  the  refining  of  the  raw  product.  Competition  is  so  keen, 
and  the  questions  involved  so  complex,  that  the  sale  of  the 
product  really  results  in  commercial  warfare. 

To  dispose  of  the  output  of  a  large  plant  successfully  re- 


MARKETING  95 

quires  great  intelligence,  a  broad  grasp  of  business  principles, 
strict  honor  and  integrity,  and  prompt,  decisive  action  in  times 
of  fluctuating  markets. 

Sales  managers  of  the  sugar-refining  companies  of  the  United 
States  command  high  salaries,  for  the  success  of  the  business 
depends  to  no  small  extent  upon  their  ability  and  judgment. 
Their  knowledge  of  human  nature  must  be  broad  and  sound 
and  it  is  tested  to  the  utmost  in  their  selection  of  assistants  and 
brokers,  for  representatives  always  reflect  the  ideals,  principles 
and  methods  of  the  parent  authority. 

The  selling  of  sugar  by  the  refiner  direct  to  the  consumer 
has  not  been  found  practicable,  as  an  organization  complete 
enough  to  keep  in  touch  with  consumers  in  every  city,  town 
and  village  of  the  country  would  be  so  top-heavy  and  costly 
to  maintain  that  the  price  of  the  commodity  to  the  consumer 
would  be  needlessly  increased. 

As  matters  stand,  people  living  in  the  frozen  valleys  of 
Alaska,  in  the  scarcely  accessible  regions  of  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains and  in  the  lumber  and  mining  settlements  of  the  West, 
many  miles  from  railroads,  can  obtain  their  supply  of  sugar 
with  almost  the  same  facility  as  the  residents  of  New  York  or 
San  Francisco.  A  system  of  distribution  that  makes  this  pos- 
sible leaves  little  to  be  desired,  and  a  word  or  two  concerning 
it  will  be  timely  at  this  point. 

Sugar  is  sold  by  the  refiner  to  the  wholesale  grocer  through 
the  medium  of  the  refinery's  broker.  From  the  wholesaler  it 
goes  to  the  retailer,  who  in  turn  delivers  it  to  the  consumer. 

Brokers  are  important  factors  in  distribution.  In  every  large 
city  and  consuming  center,  each  refinery  is  represented  by  its 
own  brokers,  who  keep  in  constant  touch  with  all  the  wholesale 
grocers  and  manufacturers  of  their  district. 

A  thorough  knowledge  of  men  and  methods,  sound  business 
principles,  diplomatic  talents  of  no  mean  order  and  the  capac- 


96  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

ity  to  act  rapidly,  but  coolly,  in  business  crises  are  found  com- 
bined in  the  successful  broker.  He  occupies  a  position  between 
the  seller  and  buyer,  and  it  is  just  as  much  his  prime  duty  to  see 
that  in  all  transactions  full  justice  is  accorded  to  both  as  it  is 
to  sell  the  sugar. 

Every  refinery  having  its  own  broker  in  each  consuming 
center,  it  follows  that  the  competition  for  business  among  the 
brokers  is  very  keen.  When  a  broker  obtains  an  order  from  a 
jobber  or  manufacturer,  he  telegraphs  it  to  his  principal.  The 
order  is  usually  confirmed  and  the  goods  shipped  promptly. 
For  his  services  the  broker  receives  three  cents  for  every  one 
hundred  pounds  of  sugar  sold.  This  compensates  him  for  the 
services  of  his  salesmen  and  himself,  his  office  expenses  and 
cost  of  telegrams,  which  is  heavy. 

Manufacturers  of  foodstuffs  of  which  sugar  is  an  ingredient, 
buy  their  supplies  through  brokers.  They  do  not  resell  the 
sugar  as  such,  but  use  it  only  in  the  manufacture  of  their  own 
special  products. 

Wholesale  grocery  jobbers,  of  whom  there  are  about  twenty- 
five  hundred  in  the  United  States,  are  also  very  important  fac- 
tors in  the  distribution  of  sugar.  As  a  rule,  they  are  located  in 
the  large  centers  of  population,  and  have  efficient  organiza- 
tions for  the  purchase  and  resale  of  all  kinds  of  foodstuffs. 
They  deal  in  as  many  as  three  thousand  different  commodities, 
and  their  expense  of  doing  business  is  apportioned  over  all  of 
these  items,  thus  reducing  to  a  minimum  the  expense  of  han- 
dling any  one  of  them.  Generally  speaking,  they  have  large  es- 
tablishments where  stocks  of  all  kinds  of  goods  are  carried 
ready  for  immediate  distribution.  The  aggregate  capital  tied 
up  in  these  stocks  throughout  the  country  is  enormous,  but 
necessary,  as  the  jobber  must  at  all  times  be  ready  to  deliver  to 
the  retailer  whatever  is  wanted  in  any  of  his  lines.  Wholesale 
jobbers  occupy  a  unique  position  in  the  scheme  of  things.  They 


MARKETING  97 

are  to  the  commerce  of  the  country  what  the  bankers  are  to  its 
finances.  In  other  words,  they  are  the  bankers  of  commodities. 
Their  operating  staff  consists,  first,  of  the  buyers,  and,  second, 
of  the  salesmen. 

The  buyers  are  men  possessing  special  knowledge  concern- 
ing the  various  articles  handled  by  the  house.  For  instance,  in 
the  grocery  line  one  will  buy  nothing  but  teas  and  coffees,  an- 
other canned  goods,  another  sugar,  and  so  on.  These  men  as  a 
rule  have  devoted  years  of  study  to  the  particular  commodity 
which  they  are  delegated  to  buy.  They  are  shrewd,  keenly  alert 
and  always  ready  to  take  advantage  of  market  fluctuations  in 
their  favor.  The  margin  of  profit  between  the  buying  and  sell- 
ing price  of  any  commodity  is  usually  so  small  that  the  acumen 
of  the  buyer  is  an  important  factor  in  the  final  results. 

The  salesmen  are  trained,  tactful,  tireless  and  efficient.  They 
travel  from  town  to  town  and  place  to  place,  visiting  every  nook 
and  corner  where  human  beings  congregate,  in  order  to  sell  the 
goods  carried  by  the  firm.  While  his  calling  is  a  most  useful 
one,  the  life  of  a  "knight  of  the  grip"  is  not  always  pleasant,  as 
he  meets  with  many  deprivations  and  discomforts. 

To  compensate  him  for  capital  invested,  for  the  expense  of 
doing  business  and  for  the  losses  he  incurs  in  bad  debts  and  de- 
clining markets,  the  jobber  probably  obtains  a  gross  return  of 
fifteen  cents  on  each  one  hundred  pounds  of  sugar  he  sells. 

The  next  important  link  in  the  chain  is  the  retailer.  It  is 
roughly  estimated  that  there  are  three  hundred  thousand  re- 
tail grocers  in  the  United  States,  many  of  whom  handle  and 
distribute  almost  as  many  articles  as  the  jobber.  Their  lot  on 
the  whole  is  not  cast  in  pleasant  places,  because  of  the  severe 
competition  they  meet  in  selling  their  goods. 

Competition  is  a  word  regarded  almost  with  affection  by  the 
buyer,  but  for  the  seller  of  goods  it  is  probably  the  most  un- 
pleasant one  in  the  English  language.  There  is  an  old  axiom 


98  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

which  reads:  "Competition  is  the  life  of  trade."  It  may  be  so, 
but  the  expression  was  no  doubt  coined  by  a  buyer. 

Among  sellers,  competition  is  in  direct  proportion  to  the 
number  engaged  in  any  particular  business.  It  therefore  fol- 
lows that  as  there  are  three  hundred  thousand  retailers  in  the 
United  States,  and  hundreds  in  each  of  all  the  large  cities,  the 
struggle  to  keep  on  their  feet  and  continue  their  various  enter- 
prises must  be  severe.  The  number  of  failures  occurring  every 
year  amply  substantiates  this  assertion.  Reckless  and  unscru- 
pulous men  engage  in  every  business,  and  the  competition  thus 
forced  on  all  others  in  their  line  is  not  only  unfair,  but  positively 
dishonest.  Any  individual  can  break  a  price  or  introduce  new 
and  expensive  experiments  in  selling  terms,  which  must  be  fol- 
lowed with  equally  attractive  terms  by  the  other  sellers,  thus 
resulting  in  great  loss  to  all.  It  is  no  satisfaction  that  such  men 
finally  fail  and  go  out  of  business,  for  the  losses  sustained  in  the 
interim  can  never  be  recovered. 

Another  grave  difficulty  with  which  the  retailer  has  to  con- 
tend is  the  fact  that  the  average  individual  to  whom  he  delivers 
his  wares  is  apt  to  be  rather  callous  when  pay-day  comes 
around.  It  is  sad,  but  true,  that  those  best  able  to  pay  are  some- 
times the  most  unsatisfactory  customers  of  the  retail  grocer. 

A  retailer's  expense  of  doing  business  is  proportionately  much 
greater  than  that  of  the  wholesaler,  and  his  losses,  due  to  bad 
or  uncollectible  accounts,  are  much  heavier.  The  cost  of  de- 
livering goods  to  the  consumer's  door  is  high,  and  a  fact  that 
should  be  remembered,  but  which  is  frequently  overlooked,  is 
that  it  costs  the  grocer  just  as  much  to  deliver  a  five-pound 
package  of  sugar  as  a  wagon-load.  Householders  are  prover- 
bially careless,  and  telephone  calls  for  late  and  urgent  deliveries 
are  a  source  of  great  annoyance  and  expense. 

To  create  a  pleasing  impression,  the  grocer  must  keep  a 
clean,  sanitary  store,  and  the  expense  incident  to  attractive 


MARKETING  99 

window  and  shelf  displays  to  invite  attention  is  an  important 
item.  Department  and  other  stores  in  his  town  or  neighbor- 
hood often  advertise  "leaders"  to  attract  the  buying  public,  in 
the  hope  of  selling  with  these  leaders  other  goods  at  a  profit,  or 
because  they  are  overstocked  with  a  particular  commodity. 
Every  retailer  must,  as  a  rule,  meet  this  unfair  competition  or 
lose  his  trade. 

Sugar  more  than  any  other  staple  article  is  used  as  a  leader, 
and,  as  a  result,  the  retail  grocer's  profit  on  it  is  very  small. 
What  remains  to  him  out  of  the  selling  price  of  one  hundred 
pounds  of  sugar  does  not  exceed  thirty-five  cents,  and  more 
than  likely  it  has  cost  him  twenty-five  cents  to  sell  it.  It  is  the 
retail  grocer's  employe  who  delivers  sugar  in^the  quantity  de- 
sired to  the  housewife  at  her  door,  and  through  her  hands  the. 
pure,  glistening  crystals  reach  the  family  table. 


t) 


BEET  SUGAR 

SHORT  REVIEW  OF  THE  HISTORY  OF  BEET  SUGAR 

THE  extraction  of  sugar  from  beets  dates  back  to  1747, 
when  Andreas  Marggraf,  professor  of  physics  in  the 
Academy  of  Science  of  Berlin,  discovered  the  existence 
of  a  sugar  in  beets  similar  in  its  properties  to  that  obtained 
from  cane. 

The  discovery  was  little  utilized  at  first,  however,  and  the 
manufacture  of  sugar  from  beets  did  not  attain  commercial  im- 
portance for  over  half  a  century,  when  Franz  Karl  Achard,  a 
pupil  of  Marggraf,  made  discoveries  which  led  to  the  construc- 
tion of  the  first  beet-sugar  factory  in  the  world,  in  Silesia,  in  the 
year  1799. 

The  work  of  Achard  soon  attracted  the  attention  of  Napo- 
leon Bonaparte,  who  appointed  a  commission  of  scientists  to 
go  to  Silesia  to  investigate  Achard's  factory.  Upon  their  re- 
turn, two  small  factories  were  constructed  near  Paris.  Al- 
though these  two  factories  were  not  altogether  a  success,  the 
results  attained  greatly  interested  Napoleon,  and  in  1811  he  is- 
sued a  decree  appropriating  one  million  francs  ($200,000)  for 
the  establishment  of  sugar  schools,  and  compelling  the  farmers 
to  plant  a  large  acreage  to  sugar  beets  the  following  year.  He 
also  prohibited  the  further  importation  of  sugar  from  the  Indies 
after  January  I,  1813. 

As  a  result  of  these  and  other  drastic  decrees,  three  hundred 
and  thirty-four  factories  were  erected  in  France  during  the 
years  1812  and  1813,  and  their  production  was  seven  million 
seven  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  sugar,  or  an  average  of 
eleven  and  one-half  tons  to  the  factory. 


By  permission  of  Truman  G.  Palmer,  Esq. 


SUGAR  BEET 


ANOTHER  TYPE  OF  SUGAR  BEET 


By  permission  of 
Truman  G.  Palmer,  Esq. 


BEET  SUGAR  .    IOI 

With  the  fall  of  Napoleon  Bonaparte,  disaster  came  upon 
this,  one  of  his  greatest  achievements,  and  but  one  factory  sur- 
vived. The  industry  was  destined  to  flourish  again,  however, 
under  the  reign  of  Louis  Philippe.  In  1836-37  there  were  five 
hundred  and  forty-two  factories  in  France,  producing  thirty- 
five  thousand  tons  of  sugar,  as  compared  with  fourteen  hun- 
dred and  eight  tons  in  Germany,  which  country  had  only  re- 
cently begun  the  culture  of  beets. 

When  Napoleon  III  became  emperor,  he  so  stimulated  the 
industry  that  in  1853  the  French  output  had  doubled.  Mean- 
while the  Germans  were  making  rapid  strides,  and  in  1880  the 
German  output  of  sugar  exceeded  that  of  France.  As  a  result 
of  legislative  encouragement,  Germany  today  is  the  largest 
beet-sugar  producer  in  the  world. 

The  first  successful  beet-sugar  factory  in  the  United  States 
was  constructed  by  E.  H.  Dyer,  at  Alvarado,  California,  in 
1879.  The  next  successful  factory  was  erected  at  Watsonville, 
California,  in  1888,  by  Claus  Spreckels.  The  Oxnard  brothers 
followed  with  the  construction  in  1890  of  a  factory  at  Grand 
Island,  Nebraska,  one  at  Norfolk,  Nebraska,  and  a  third  at 
Chino,  California,  the  last  built  in  1891. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen  that  the  commercial  production  of 
beet  sugar  in  the  United  States  really  dates  back  to  about  1890, 
since  only  three  factories  of  small  capacity  had  been  estab- 
lished prior  to  that  date.  The  development  of  the  industry 
since  the  year  1892  has  been  rapid,  and  the  general  results  of 
the  beet  industry  in  the  United  States  in  1915  showed  the  fol- 
lowing: 

Factories  in  operation  67 

Acres  of  beets  harvested  61 1,301 

Average  yield  of  beets  per  acre  10.10  short  tons 

Beets  worked  6,150,293 

Sugar  manufactured  874,220 


102  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

The  season  of  1916  promises  a  notable  increase  in  tonnage. 

THE  SUGAR  BEET 

The  botanical  name  of  the  sugar  beet  is  Beta  vulgarls.  It  grows 
exclusively  in  the  temperate  zone,  and  with  satisfactory  soil 
and  climatic  conditions  a  yield  of  thirty  tons  per  acre  has  re- 
sulted. The  average  yield  in  the  United  States,  however,  is 
slightly  over  ten  tons  per  acre.  There  are  many  varieties  of 
beets,  some  of  which  do  better  in  one  locality  than  another,  so 
that  great  care  must  be  used  in  the  selection  of  the  seed. 

The  beet,  unlike  sugar  cane,  grows  below  the  ground,  is  white 
in  color  and  shaped  like  the  ordinary  carrot,  but  larger.  The 
beets  vary  greatly  in  size,  depending  upon  variety,  soil  and 
climatic  conditions,  the  average  weight  ranging  between  one 
and  two  pounds. 

The  foliage  has  a  rich,  brilliant  green  color  and  grows  to  a 
height  of  about  fourteen  inches.  The  leaves  are  numerous  and 
broad  and  grow  in  a  tuft  from  the  center  or  crown  of  the  beet, 
which  is  usually  level  with  or  just  above  the  ground  surface. 
The  average  composition  of  a  sugar  beet  is  about  as  follows : 
Sugar  17.3  per  cent 

Marc  or  pulp  4.4   "      " 

Ash  and  organic  non-sugar  .7    "      " 

Water  77.6    "      " 

The  value  of  the  beet  to  a  factory  depends  on  the  amount 
and  purity  of  the  sugar  content.  Factories  as  a  rule  decline  to 
purchase  beets  containing  less  than  twelve  per  cent  of  sucrose, 
as  it  is  unprofitable  to  handle  them.  In  order  to  induce  the 
farmer  to  devote  particular  care  and  attention  to  the  culture  of 
his  fields  and  thus  increase  the  sugar  content,  the^actoriesjpay 
a  premium  for  beets  containing  over  fifteen  per  cent  of  sugar. 
The  premium  is  usually  twenty-five  cents  per  ton  of  beets  for 
each  additional  one  per  cent  of  sugar.  Encouraged  by  this  bo- 


BEET  SUGAR 

nus,  the  California j^rower  has  improved  the  quality  of  his  beets, 
until  today  they  contain  on  an  average  about  eighteen  per  cent 
of  sugar  of  a  purity  from  eighty  to  eighty-four. 

SELECTION  OF  THE  SOIL 

The  sugar  beet,  like  sugar  cane,  needs  a  peculiar  soil  and  climate 
for  its  successful  cultivation.  The  most  important  requirement 
is  that  the  soil  shall  contain  a  large  supply  of  plant  food,  be 
rich  in  humus  and  have  the  property  of  retaining  a  great  deal 
of  moisture.  A  certain  amount  of  alkali  is  not  necessarily  detri- 
mental, as  sugar  beets  are  not  especially  susceptible  to  injury 
from  this  salt.  The  ground  should  be  fairly  level  and  well 
drained,  especially  where  irrigation  is  practiced. 

While  the  physical  character  is  of  secondary  importance,  as 
generous  crops  are  grown  in  sandy  soil  as  well  as  in  heavy 
loams,  still  the  ideal  soil  is  a  sandy  loam,  i.  e.,  a  mixture  of  or- 
ganic matter,  clay  and  sand.  A  subsoil  of  gravel,  or  the  pres- 
ence of  hard-pan,  is  not  desirable,  as  cultivation  to  a  depth  of 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  inches  is  necessary  to  produce  the  best 
results. 

Climatic  conditions,  temperature,  sunshine,  rainfall  and 
winds  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  success  of  beet  cul- 
ture. A  temperature  ranging  from  60  degrees  to  70  degrees 
Fahrenheit  during  the  growing  months  is  most  favorable.  Six- 
teen inches  of  rainfall  are  necessary  to  raise  an  average  crop 
of  beets  without  irrigation.  High  winds  are  very  harmful,  as 
they  generally  crust  the  land  and  prevent  the  young  beets 
from  coming  through  the  ground.  The  best  results  are  obtained 
along  the  coast  of  southern  California,  where  warm,  sunny 
days  succeeded  by  cool,  foggy  nights  seem  to  meet  every  re- 
quirement. Sunshine  of  long  duration  but  not  of  great  intensity 
is  the  most  important  factor  in  the  successful  cultivation  of 
sugar  beets.  The  nearer  the  equator  is  approached,  the  poorer 


104  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

the  beets  become  in  sucrose  because  of  the  shorter  days  and  the 
greater  heat  of  the  sun.  Beets  have  never  been  raised  with  suc- 
cess in  the  hot  interior  valleys,  as  the  hot  days  followed  by 
warm,  dry  nights  sap  the  vitality  of  the  plant.  In  the  elevated 
Rocky  mountain  region  of  Colorado  and  Utah,  where  the  tem- 
perature is  high  during  the  daytime  but  where  the  nights  are 
cool,  the  quality  of  the  beet  is  excellent. 

In  Michigan  the  long  summer  days  and  the  influence  of  the 
great  lakes  result  in  satisfactory  climatic  conditions  for  sugar- 
beet  culture,  and  the  crops  raised  in  that  state  are  large. 

In  order  to  cultivate  beets  successfully  the  land  must  be 
properly  prepared.  Deep  ploughing  is  the  first  principle  of  beet 
culture.  It  allows  the  roots  to  penetrate  the  subsoil  without 
much  obstruction,  thereby  preventing  the  beet  from  growing 
out  of  the  ground,  besides  enabling  it  to  extract  considerable 
nourishment  and  moisture  from  the  lower  soil.  If  the  latter  is 
too  hard,  the  roots  will  not  penetrate  it  readily  and,  as  a  result, 
the  plant  will  be  pushed  up  and  out  of  the  earth  during  the 
process  of  growth.  A  hard  subsoil  is  impervious  to  water  and 
prevents  proper  drainage.  It  should  not  be  too  loose,  however, 
as  this  allows  the  water  to  pass  through  more  freely  than  is 
desirable. 

The  character  of  the  surface  soil  is  equally  important.  Care- 
ful preparation  by  harrowing  should  be  done  to  afford  a  finely 
pulverized  and  clean  bed  for  the  seed. 

To  sum  up,  the  soil  should  be  deep,  fairly  fine  and  easily 
penetrable  by  the  roots.  It  should  also  be  capable  of  retaining 
moisture  and  at  the  same  time  admit  of  a  free  circulation  of 
air  and  good  drainage. 

PLANTING 

The  preliminary  preparation  of  the  ground  finished,  the  seed 
should  be  put  in  as  soon  as  the  soil  is  firm  enough  to  allow  it  to 
germinate  readily  and  the  young  plants  to  grow  normally.  The 


BEET  SUGAR  IO5 

time  of  planting  varies  according  to  climatic  conditions.  In 
California  planting  begins  as  a  rule  in  December  and  ends  in 
March,  while  in  Utah,  Colorado  and  Michigan  it  ranges  from 
March  until  May. 

About  twenty  pounds  of  seed  to  the  acre  are  required  to  pro-  / 
duce  a  satisfactory  stand.  The  seed  is  planted  in  rows,  about 
eighteen  inches  apart,  and  is  drilled  in  solidly  to  a  depth  of 
from  three-quarters  to  one  and  a  half  inches.  The  latter  is  the 
maximum,  as  any  greater  depth  than  this  weakens  the  plant 
and  should,  therefore,  be  avoided.  The  soil  around  the  seed  is 
well  packed  by  the  planter  in  order  to  draw  the  moisture  neces- 
sary for  germination. 

The  production  of  beet  seed  presents  many  problems;  the 
chief  one  is  to  obtain  the  particular  kind  of  seed  that  will  bring 
forth  a  hardy  beet  containing  a  large  percentage  of  sugar  of  a 
high  purity.  The  beets  from  which  the  seed  is  produced  are 
selected  with  the  greatest  care,  and  for  nearly  a  century  the 
Luther  Burbanks  of  Europe  have  devoted  their  time  and  skill 
to  improving  the  quality.  Until  recently,  practically  all  of  the 
beeLseed  used  in  the  United  States  was  imported  from  Europe. 
Since  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  in  1914,  however,  the  diffi-  - 
culties  attendant  upon  securing  a  supply  have  caused  the  beet 
growers  to  turn  their  attention  to  raising  seed  in  this  country. 
Their  efforts  have  been  rewarded  with  a  fair  measure  of  suc- 
cess, and  while  the  cost  is  greater  than  that  of  European  seed, 
the  germinating  properties  have  proven  to  be  excellent.  The 
best  results  have  been  obtained  in  Idaho.  Owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  culture  of  the  beets  and  the  picking  and  sorting  of  the  seed 
are  done  chiefly  by  hand,  labor  enters  largely  into  the  cost  of 
production,  and  consequently,  under  normal  conditions,  the 
growers  in  the  densely  populated  countries  of  Europe  have  a 
great  advantage  over  those  in  the  United  States,  where  the 
main  difficulty  is  securing  labor  for  the  field  work. 


106  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

Like  sugar  cane,  beets  are  subject  to  plant  diseases  of  vari- 
ous kinds,  as  well  as  to  injury  by  insect  pests,  and  great  care  has 
to  be  exercised  to  ward  off  these  dangers. 

/  Probably  no  other  crop  exhausts  the  soil  so  rapidly  as  beets, 
and,  if  they  are  planted  for  many  years  in  succession,  they  de- 
teriorate year  by  year.  On  the  other  hand,  if  crops  are  rotated 
so  that  beets  are  grown  in  the  same  ground  every  third  year, 
peas,  beans  or  grain  being  raised  the  other  two  years,  it  is  a  re- 
markable fact  that  all  of  these  crops  will  improve  each  year. 
This  is  due  to  the  intensive  cultivation  of  the  beets  and  to  the 
humus  left  in  the  ground  in  the  form  of  rootlets.  Experience 
has  taught  the  farmer  that  no  other  crop  is  so  beneficial  to  the 
soil  as  beets  grown  in  the  right  rotation  and  with  proper  care. 

THINNING 

As  soon  as  the  beets  are  up  and  the  rows  clearly  defined, 
thinning  becomes  necessary.  This  is  one  of  the  most  important 
I  features  of  beet  culture  and  is  a  tedious  and  expensive  opera- 
tion. It  consists  of  cutting  out  the  plants  so  that  individual 
roots  remain,  spaced  about  eight  inches  apart.  The  work  is 
done  by  hand,  a  hoe  being  used  to  block  out  the  spaces,  and  the 
roots  surrounding  the  one  which  it  is  desired  to  retain  are 
pulled  up.  Due  partly  to  faulty  germination,  but  principally  to 
defective  thinning  of  the  beets,  in  which  operation  a  great 
many  of  the  small,  tender  beet  plants  are  injured  or  killed,  very 
much  less  than  the  theoretical  number  of  mature  beets  are  se- 
cured per  acre.  With  rows  eighteen  inches  apart  and  a  plant 
every  eight  inches  in  the  row,  43,000  beets  per  acre  should  be 
obtained,  which,  at  an  average  weight  of  one  and  one-half 
pounds  per  beet,  would  mean  32.25  tons.  Owing,  however,  to 
the  facts  just  mentioned  and  to  other  causes,  the  actual  yield  is 
always  much  less.  The  average  in  California  for  a  number  of 
years  past  has  been  only  10.68  tons  per  acre. 


-• 


BEET  SUGAR 

CULTIVATION 

The  purpose  of  cultivation  is  two-fold ;  first,  to  retain  the  mois- 
ture in  the  soil,  and,  second,  to  destroy  the  weeds  and  grass,  as 
in  the  early  stages  of  the  growth  of  the  beets  weeds  might  spoil 
the  stand  by  choking  the  plants. 

Cultivation  should  be  continued  until  the  plants  have  at- 
tained such  a  size  that  the  leaves  cover  the  ground.  It  increases 
the  fertility  of  the  soil  by  opening  the  land  to  the  atmosphere, 
thus  facilitating  the  penetration  of  oxygen  and  absorption  of 
air  moisture  and  the  resulting  decomposition  and  assimilation 
of  nutritious  elements. 

HARVESTING  AND  TOPPING 

The  time  when  harvesting  takes  place  depends  on  the  many 
factors  that  influence  the  growth  and  maturing  of  the  beet.  In 
the  colder  countries  the  harvesting  lasts  from  September  until 
the  ground  becomes  frozen,  while  in  warmer  climates  like  that 
of  California,  where  the  seed  is  planted  early,  harvesting  be- 
gins about  July  first  and  lasts  for  a  period  of  from  seventy-five 
to  ninety  days. 

The  beets  are  first  loosened  by  means  of  a  specially  shaped 
plough,  called  the  "puller,"  which  lifts  them  from  the  ground. 
They  are  then  picked  up  by  hand  and  the  crown  of  each  beet, 
together  with  the  leaves,  is  cut  off  with  a  large  knife.  The  leaves 
contain  no  sugar,  and  are,  therefore,  not  taken  into  the  factory, 
but  are  utilized  for  stock  feeding,  being  quite  valuable  for  this 
purpose.  The  sugar  contained  in  the  crown  is  accompanied  by 
so  many  organic  salts  that  it  does  not  pay  to  extract  it. 

The  topped  beets  are  then  loaded  into  wagons  or  railroad 
cars  and  transported  to  the  factory,  at  which  point  they  are^ 
carefully  weighed.  In  this  country  most  of  the  beets  are  raised   j 
by  farmers  and  sold  under  contract  to  the  factories,  at  so  much  / 
per  ton,  so  that  the  determination  of  the  exact  weight  and/ 


108  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

sucrose  content  is  important.  For  the  season  of  1915  the  aver- 
l  age  price  paid  to  the  farmers  for  beets  was  $5.67  per  ton. 

On  arrival  at  the  factory  a  certain  number  of  beets  are  taken 
from  every  wagon-  or  car-load,  and  these  represent  a  fair  aver- 
age of  all  the  beets  of  that  particular  delivery.  They  are  sent  to 
the  laboratory  and  their  exact  weight  ascertained,  after  which 
they  are  trimmed  of  all  adhering  roots,  leaves  and  parts  of  the 
crown,  if  not  properly  topped  in  the  field.  Any  remaining  soil 
is  carefully  brushed  off  and  the  beets  thoroughly  cleaned.  They 
are  then  reweighed  and  'the  difference  between  this  and  the 
first  weight  is  the  tare.  This  difference  represents  a  certain  per- 
centage of  the  total  of  the  sample  beets  weighed,  and  that  small 
percentage  is  deducted  from  the  gross  weight  of  the  total  load. 
In  this  way  the  exact  net  weight  of  beets  delivered  by  the 
farmer  is  determined  and  he  is  paid  according  to  this  net 
weight. 

The  sugar  content  of  the  beet  and  the  purity  of  the  juice 
must  now  be  ascertained,  for  the  price  paid  the  farmer  varies 
according  to  the  amount  of  sugar  the  beet  contains.  As  in  the 
case  of  weighing,  sampling  and  polarizing  raw  cane  sugar, 
representatives  of  both  parties — the  farmer  and  the  factory — 
are  present  when  all  weights  are  taken  and  tests  made.  There 
are  several  different  methods  for  determining  the  percentage  of 
sugar  in  the  beet  and  the  purity  of  the  juice,  but  the  following 
gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  general  practice. 

The  sample  beets  having  been  cleaned,  are  cut  into  quarters, 
one-quarter  of  each  beet  being  taken  for  the  general  sample. 
This  general  sample  is  placed  in  a  grinding  or  shredding  ma- 
chine, the  beets  are  disintegrated  to  a  fine  pulp  and  thoroughly 
mixed.  A  specific  amount  of  this  fine  pulp  is  then  accurately 
weighed  and  placed  in  a  copper  pan  or  dish  called  a  capsule.  A 
small  quantity  of  dilute  lead  solution  is  introduced  to  assist  in 
clarifying,  and  sufficient  water  added  to  bring  the  volume  up 


BEET  SUGAR  IOg 

to  200  cubic  centimeters.  It  is  then  heated  for  about  twenty 
minutes  and  vigorously  agitated,  so  that  the  sugar-bearing 
juice  of  the  beet  will  mix  evenly  with  the  water  that  was  added. 
The  mixture,  after  being  allowed  to  stand  for  several  minutes, 
is  filtered  through  paper  and  a  certain  amount  placed  in  the 
observation  tube  of  a  polariscope.  The  instrument  will  show 
the  amount  of  sugar  in  the  solution,  and  by  multiplying  the 
reading  by  two  the  per  cent  of  sugar  in  the  beets  will  be  found. 
If  in  preparing  the  sample  only  sufficient  water  had  been  added 
to  bring  it  to  a  volume  of  100  cubic  centimeters,  the  polariscope 
would  give  a  direct  reading  of  the  percentage  of  sugar  in  the 
beets.  Practice  has  demonstrated,  however,  that  the  method 
described  is  the  more  accurate. 

To  ascertain  the  purity  of  the  juice,  the  procedure  is  as  fol- 
lows :  A  part  of  the  shredded  sample  is  taken  and  the  juice  is 
squeezed  out  of  it.  The  amount  of  sugar  in  this  juice  is  deter- 
mined by  aid  of  the  polariscope,  and  a  Brix  spindle  shows  the 
amount  of  solids  it  contains.  By  dividing  the  polarization  by 
the  Brix  and  multiplying  by  100  the  purity  is  obtained,  which 
means  the  percentage  of  pure  sugar  in  the  total  amount  of 
solids  contained  in  the  solution. 

The  purity  of  the  juice  has  an  important  bearing  on  the  sub- 
sequent manufacture  of  the  sugar.  It  is  difficult  and  costly  tq 
extract  sugar  from  low-purity  juices,  and  the  loss  of  sugar  in 
the  process  is  very  high.  The  reverse  is  naturally  true  if  the 
juices  have  a  high  purity.  The  purity  of  the  juice  in  the  beet  is 
materially  affected  during  the  growing  period  by  climatic  con- 
ditions, rainfall,  irrigation,  fertilization,  state  of  soil  and  culti- 
vation. Great  care  and  attention  must  be  given  the  beet  to  in- 
sure high  purity  and  heavy  content  of  sugar. 

From  the  above  it  will  be  seen  how  the  net  weight  and  the 
percentage  of  sugar  in  any  particular  wagon-  or  car-load  of 
beets  are  ascertained,  as  well  as  the  purity  of  all  the  beets  that 


HO  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

enter  a  factory.  The  efficiency  of  the  work  in  a  factory  is  based 
on  the  figures  thus  obtained. 

MANUFACTURE  OF  BEET  SUGAR 

The  process  of  making  sugar  from  the  beet  is  highly  technical 
in  its  details  and  cannot  be  fully  discussed  within  the  scope  of 
this  work.  A  brief  description,  however,  will  give  an  idea  of  the 
general  methods  followed. 

The  process  of  manufacture  may  be  classified  under  seven 
headings : 

1.  Transportation  and  cleaning  of  beets. 

2.  Extraction  of  juice,  slicing  and  diffusion. 

3.  Purification,  carbonation,  filtration,  concentration  and  sul- 
fitation. 

4.  Formation  of  grain. 

5.  Partial  drying,  purging  crystals  from  syrup  in  centrif- 
ugals. 

6.  Final  drying. 

7.  Packing. 

TRANSPORTATION  AND  CLEANING 

The  beets,  after  delivery  to  the  factory,  are  stored  in  V-shaped 
bins,  in  the  bottom  of  which  is  a  flume  covered  by  removable 
boards.  By  removing  the  boards,  one  at  a  time,  the  beets  are 
fed  into  the  flume,  where  a  swift  current  of  water  floats  them 
into  the  factory.  From  this  flume  the  beets  are  lifted  by  means 
of  a  large  wheel,  a  helical  screw  or  any  other  suitable  device, 
and  discharged  into  a  washer. 

The  common  form  of  washer  consists  of  a  horizontal,  semi- 
cylindrical  tank  provided  with  rotating,  kicking  or  stirring 
arms  for  keeping  the  beets  in  motion.  In  this  tank  the  beet  is 
completely  cleaned  and  separated  from  adhering  earth,  weeds 
and  pebbles. 


BEET  SUGAR  m 

The  beets  are  delivered  from  the  washer  into  an  elevator, 
which  takes  them  to  a  point  near  the  top  of  the  factory  and  dis- 
charges them  into  automatic  weighing  and  recording  scales. 
From  the  scales  the  beets  fall  by  gravity  into  the  slicing  ma- 
chines. 

EXTRACTION  OF  JUICE,  SLICING  AND  DIFFUSION 

The  slices  are  made  in  various  shapes  and  forms.  The  slicing 
machines  consist  of  revolving,  corrugated  knives  which  cut  the 
beets  into  long,  thin  slices  or  "cossettes."  The  object  is  to  pro- 
duce slices  which  expose  the  greatest  amount  of  surface,  and 
yet  sufficiently  firm  to  lie  not  too  closely  together  when  placed 
in  the  diffusion  battery,  thereby  preventing  the  circulation  of 
the  diffusion  liquors.  The  cossettes  are  conveyed  on  an  endless 
belt,  or  through  a  hopper,  to  the  cells  of  the  diffusion  battery. 

As  the  term  implies,  the  juice  in  the  beet  is  extracted  by  dif- 
fusion, and  not  by  crushing,  as  in  the  case  of  cane.  When  two 
liquids,  separated  by  a  membrane,  are  brought  in  direct  con- 
tact with  each  other  and  allowed  to  stand  for  a  time,  they  mix 
uniformly  without  the  assistance  of  mechanical  or  other  force. 

Beets  are  made  up  of  a  great  number  of  plant  cells,  the  walls 
of  which  are  porous  membranes.  These  cells  are  placed  in  con- 
tact with  water  or  juice  of  lesser  sugar  content  than  the  juice 
in  the  plant  cell,  in  consequence  of  which  the  juice  is  gradually 
diffused  from  the  beet  and  carried  away  in  the  circulating  water 
which  is  added.  When  this  water,  or  rather  juice,  has  reached  a 
certain  stage  of  concentration,  it  is  drawn  out  of  the  cells  and 
sent  to  the  next  stage  in  the  process  of  manufacture. 

A  diffusion  battery,  or  the  apparatus  in  which  the  process  of 
diffusion  is  carried  on,  consists  of  a  number  of  tanks  or  cells, 
usually  from  ten  to  fourteen,  cylindrical  in  shape  and  terminat- 
ing in  truncated  cones  provided  with  covers.  There  are  two 
ways  of  arranging  the  cells  of  a  diffusion  battery;  in  the  one 


112  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

case  the  cells  are  placed  in  a  straight  line;  in  the  other  they  are 
grouped  in  a  circle.  These  cells  are  filled  with  cossettes  in  rota- 
tion, and  water  is  introduced  into  the  one  in  which  the  cossettes 
were  first  placed. 

Thus  the  water  enters  the  tank  in  which  the  cossettes  are 
nearly  exhausted  of  their  sugar,  and  it  flows  successively 
through  the  other  cells  that  contain  cossettes  of  greater  sugar 
content  until  the  last  cell,  or  the  one  containing  fresh  cossettes, 
is  reached.  The  juice  passing  through  this  cell  is  alternately 
sent  to  the  measuring  tank  or  to  the  next  cell,  which  has  just 
been  filled  with  fresh  cossettes.  The  process  is  continuous,  one 
cell  being  emptied  of  exhausted  cossettes  while  another  is  be- 
ing filled  with  fresh  ones,  and  the  juice  flowing  either  to  the 
measuring  tank  or  to  the  freshly  filled  cell. 

The  exhausted  cossettes,  now  called  pulp,  are  dropped  from 
the  bottom  of  the  diffusion  tanks  into  a  large  bin,  from  which 
they  are  conveyed  or  pumped  to  pulp  separators  and  presses  for 
the  separation  of  the  surplus  water.  This  pressed  pulp  is  usually 
stored  in  large  bins  or  silos,  where  it  is  allowed  to  ferment  be- 
fore being  fed  to  cattle. 

Recently  the  practice  of  drying  the  pulp  has  been  carried  on 
to  a  large  extent.  In  this  process  the  moisture  in  the  pulp  is  re- 
duced to  ten  per  cent,  the  same  proportion  as  in  cured  hay. 
Dried  to  this  point,  it  is  packed  in  bags  and  may  be  stored  for 
an  indefinite  period  without  deteriorating.  After  being  treated 
thus  it  forms  an  excellent  stock  food,  particularly  if  waste 
molasses  is  sprayed  on  it  before  drying. 

PURIFICATION  OF  JUICE,  CARBONATION  AND  FILTRATION 

The  diffusion  juice  obtained  as  above  described  is  quite  dark  in 
color,  and  after  passing  through  the  measuring  tanks  it  is  con- 
veyed to  carbonation  tanks  where  it  is  treated  with  from  three 
to  four  per  cent  of  caustic  lime  in  the  form  of  a  thick  milk. 


BEET  SUGAR 

After  being  thoroughly  agitated,  the  mixture  is  treated  with 
carbonic  acid  gas  obtained  from  the  lime-kilns,  as  the  result  of 
the  decomposition  of  limestone  and  the  combustion  of  the  fuel 
used  for  burning  it. 

By  this  process  some  of  the  impurities  in  the  juice  are  re- 
moved and  the  color  reduced  to  a  brilliant  amber.  As  is  the  case 
in  the  cane  mills  and  refineries,  it  is  essential  to  keep  the  juice 
hot  throughout  the  process.  The  carbonation  is  continued  until 
the  juice  is  only  slightly  alkaline,  when  it  is  passed  through 
filter  presses  for  the  removal  of  the  precipitated  lime  carbonate 
and  other  solid  matter.  The  solid  matter  in  suspension  is  re- 
tained in  the  frame  of  the  press,  and,  as  soon  as  the  frame  is  full, 
the  cake  is  washed  by  passing  water  through  it.  When  the 
sugar  content  of  the  cake  has  been  sufficiently  reduced,  the  press 
is  opened  and  the  cake  discharged  and  sent  to  the  fields  to  be 
used  as  a  fertilizer. 

As  a  rule,  the  filtration  is  repeated  for  the  elimination  of  any 
solids  that  may  have  passed  through  the  first  filtration.  This 
double  filtration  is  usually  practiced  in  all  the  filtrations  in  the 
course  of  the  juice  through  the  factory. 

The  juice  after  being  filtered  a  second  time  is  again  treated 
with  carbonic  acid  gas  for  the  further  reduction  of  the  caustic 
lime  and  then  undergoes  a  third  filtration,  following  which  it  is 
sent  to  the  evaporators  for  concentration. 

CONCENTRATION  OF  JUICE 

When  the  juice  reaches  the  evaporators  it  contains  about 
eighty-two  per  cent  of  water,  which,  by  concentration,  must  be 
reduced  to  about  forty  per  cent.  As  already  explained,  the  re- 
moval of  water  is  generally  accomplished  in  multiple-effects. 
The  apparatus  consists  of  a  number  of  boiling  bodies  connected 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  secure  a  progressive  decrease  in  atmos- 
pheric pressure. 


114  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

The  thin  juice  enters  the  first  body  where  evaporation  takes 
place  under  a  slight  pressure.  The  steam  for  this  evaporation  is 
usually  the  waste  or  exhaust  from  the  engines  and  pumps.  The 
vapors  generated  by  the  evaporation  of  water  from  the  juice 
in  the  first  body  enter  the  heating  tubes  of  the  second  body 
and  are  used  in  further  concentrating  the  somewhat  concen- 
trated juice  from  the  first  body.  The  evaporation  in  this  sec- 
ond body  is  conducted  at  a  higher  vacuum  and  corresponding 
lower  temperature  than  in  the  first  body.  This  proceeding  is 
continued  until  five  or  even  six  bodies  are  used  in  the  series. 
The  last  body  is  usually  under  a  vacuum  of  about  twenty-six 
inches  of  mercury. 

It  is  obvious  that  by  this  arrangement  the  concentration  of 
the  thin  juice  is  effected  with  the  maximum  of  economy,  direct 
steam  being  admitted  into  the  first  body  only  and  the  rest  of 
the  operation  accomplished  by  the  steam  generated  in  the  boil- 
ing of  the  juice. 

SULFITATION 

The  thickened  liquor  leaving  the  last  body  of  the  evaporators 
is  sent  to  the  sulphur  station  and  treated  with  sulphur  fumes, 
in  order  to  further  precipitate  the  soluble  impurities  and  re- 
duce the  color  of  the  liquor.  It  is  then  heated  to  boiling  point 
in  closed  tanks  and  passed  through  a  double  set  of  cloth  filters. 
This  is  the  final  process  in  the  purification  of  the  beet  juice, 
and  it  is  then  ready  for  graining. 

In  a  cane-sugar  refinery  no  sulfitation  of  the  liquor  takes 
place,  and  in  a  beet  factory  there  is  no  char  filtration  for  re- 
moval of  color  and  impurities  in  the  liquor.  These  two  points 
constitute  the  main  difference  in  the  methods  of  making  white 
sugar  from  the  cane  and  the  beet  in  the  United  States.  In 
Europe,  however,  many  factories  make  a  raw  beet  sugar,  which 
is  subsequently  refined  with  the  aid  of  bone-char. 


By  permission  of 
Truman  G.  Palmer,  ESQ. 


WEIGHING,  FILLING  AND  SEWING  BAGS 
IN  A  BEET  FACTORY 


BEET  SUGAR 

FORMATION  OF  GRAIN 

The  formation  of  the  crystallized  grain  and  its  progress 
through  the  vacuum  pans,  centrifugals,  driers,  granulators  and 
screens,  and  into  the  bags  in  the  packing  room,  is  identical  with 
the  process  in  a  cane  refinery,  which  has  already  been  described. 

STEFFEN  PROCESS 

In  some  of  the  beet  factories  the  sugar  left  in  the  final  molasses 
is  extracted  by  what  is  known  as  the  Steffen  process.  The  final 
low-purity  molasses  is  diluted  with  water  and  cooled  to  a  very 
low  temperature,  after  which  finely  powdered  lime  is  con- 
stantly added  to  the  solution  at  a  uniform  and  slow  rate.  The 
sugar  combines  with  the  lime  and  a  saccharate  of  lime  is  formed 
which  is  insoluble  in  the  liquid.  The  suspended  matter  or  sac- 
charate is  then  separated  and  washed  in  filter  presses. 

The  cake  from  these  filter  presses,  which  is  the  saccharate  of 
lime,  is  mixed  with  sweet  water  to  a  consistency  of  cream  and 
takes  the  place  of  milk  of  lime  in  the  carbonation  process. 
When  the  Steffen  process  is  employed,  about  ninety  per  cent 
of  the  sugar  originally  in  the  beet  is  extracted.  Th'e  loss  of 
sugar  that  does  take  place  is  accounted  for  in  the  exhausted 
cossettes  or  pulp,  in  the  pulp  water  which  surrounds  them 
when  they  are  dumped  from  the  diffusion  cells,  in  the  cake  and 
wash  waters  from  the  carbonation  presses  and  in  the  waste 
and  wash  waters  from  the  Steffen  process.  As  the  water  used 
in  washing  the  saccharate  press  cake  is  rich  in  fertilizing  quali- 
ties, it  is  used  for  irrigating  the  lands  adjoining  the  factory. 

The  6,511,274  tons  of  beets  harvested  in  the  United  States 
during  the  season  of  1915  contained  an  average  of  16.49  Per 
cent  of  sucrose,  of  which  14.21  per  cent  found  its  way  into 
the  sacks  as  white  sugar.  The  difference,  2.28  per  cent,  repre- 
sented the  loss  in  working  up  the  beets.  As  only  a  few  factories, 
however,  were  using  the  Steffen  process,  a  considerable 


Il6  GROWTH  AND  MANUFACTURE 

amount  of  sugar  was  left  in  the  waste  molasses.  For  the  same 
period,  the  beets  produced  in  California  contained  17.82  per 
cent  of  sugar,  of  which  15.64  per  cent  found  its  way  into  the 
sacks,  showing  a  loss  of  only  2.18  per  cent.  This  may  be  ac- 
counted for  by  the  fact  that  probably  more  of  the  California  fac- 
tories were  equipped  with  the  Steffen  process  than  the  average 
for  the  United  States,  and  that  the  purity  of  the  juices  of  Cali- 
fornia beets  was  higher  than  the  average  for  the  United  States. 

A  factory  equipped  with  the  Steffen  process  and  running  on 
beets  containing  17.82  per  cent  sugar,  with  a  purity  of  82, 
should  lose  not  over  1.9  per  cent  of  the  sugar  in  the  beet.  The 
same  factory  without  the  Steffen  process  would  probably  lose 
5.04  per  cent  of  the  sugar. 

It  is  interesting  to  know  that,  according  to  the  testimony 
given  before  the  Hardwick  committee,  the  average  cost  of  pro- 
ducing and  selling  one  hundred  pounds  of  white  beet  sugar  in 
the  United  States  today  is  about  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents. 
The  selling  price,  which  is  from  ten  to  twenty  cents  per  one 
hundred  pounds  less  than  the  selling  price  of  refined  cane 
sugar,  fluctuates  with  the  value  of  raw  cane  sugar.  For  in- 
stance, if  raw  cane  sugar  is  selling  in  New  York  at  four  dollars 
per  one  hundred  pounds,  the  selling  price  of  refined  cane  will 
probably  be  four  dollars  and  eighty  cents.  Beet  sugar,  there- 
fore, would  be  four  dollars  and  seventy  cents  or  four  dollars 
and  sixty  cents.  On  the  other  hand,  if  raw  cane  were  selling  for 
three  dollars  per  one  hundred  pounds,  refined  would  probably  be 
three  dollars  and  eighty  cents  and  beet  sugar  three  dollars  and 
seventy  or  three  dollars  and  sixty  cents.  In  the  one  case  the  beet 
factory  makes  a  large  profit;  in  the  other  a  very  small  profit. 

As  the  value  of  raw  sugar  is  determined  absolutely  by  the 
law  of  supply  and  demand  in  the  world's  markets,  it  is  clear 
that  the  fortune  or  misfortune  of  the  beet-sugar  producer  is 
beyond  his  control. 


PART  n 
History  of  the  Industry 


EARLY  HISTORY 

INDIA,  the  land  that  Kipling  has  called  "the  grim  stepmother 
of  mankind,"  is,  according  to  the  best  authorities,  the  orig- 
inal habitat  of  the  sugar  cane;  and  there  is  but  little  doubt 
that  the  properties  of  the  plant  were  known  to  the  Hindustani 
many  centuries  before  the  Christian  era.  Nothing  concerning  it 
is  found  in  the  Old  Testament,  the  Talmud  or  in  the  oldest 
Hindu  literature;  and  even  in  Buddha's  time  (500  B.  C.)  it  was 
little  known. 

The  legend  runs  that  sugar  cane  was  created  by  the  famous 
hermit  Vishva  Mitra  to  serve  as  heavenly  food  in  the  tempo- 
rary paradise  arranged  by  him  for  the  sake  of  Raja  Trishanku. 
It  was  the  desire  of  this  prince  to  be  translated  to  heaven  dur- 
ing his  lifetime,  but  Indra,  the  ruler  of  the  celestial  realms,  had 
refused  to  admit  him.  In  order  to  gratify  Trishanku's  wish, 
Vishva  Mitra  prepared  a  temporary  paradise  for  him.  When  a 
reconciliation  between  Indra  and  Trishanku  was  brought 
about,  the  paradise  was  demolished  and  all  its  luxuries  de- 
stroyed save  a  few,  among  which  was  sugar  cane.  This  subse- 
quently spread  over  the  land  of  mortals  as  a  lasting  token  of 
Vishva  Mitra's  miraculous  deeds. 

Among  the  Chinese  the  first  historical  mention  occurs  in 
writings  of  the  eighth  century  B.  C.,  where  the  fact  is  recorded 
that  their  knowledge  of  sugar  cane  was  derived  from  India. 
That  it  was  considered  of  great  value  by  the  Chinese  is  shown 
by  manuscripts  of  200  B.  C.,  wherein  it  is  stated  that  the  king- 
dom of  Funan  paid  its  tribute  to  China  in  sugar  cane.  From  this 
it  may  be  inferred  that  the  secret  of  extracting  crystals  from  the 
sugar-cane  juice  had  not  been  discovered. 


120  HISTORICAL 

More  than  three  centuries  before  Christ,  the  triumphant 
progress  of  Alexander  the  Great  was  halted  upon  the  banks  of 
the  river  Indus  by  the  refusal  of  his  troops  to  venture  farther 
eastward.  On  their  return  journey,  the  Macedonian  soldiers 
carried  the  "honey-bearing  reed"  to  Europe. 

A  number  of  classical  writers  of  the  first  century  allude  to  the 
sweet  sap  of  the  Indian  reed  and  to  the  granulated,  salt-like 
product  imported  from  India  under  the  name  of  saccharum,  or 
traicxapi,  from  the  Sanskrit  qarkard,  gravel,  sugar.  The  names  of 
sugar  in  modern  European  languages  are  derived  through  the 
Arabic  from  the  Persian  shakar. 

The  people  dwelling  in  the  valleys  of  the  Ganges  possessed  a 
knowledge  of  boiling  sugar  juice,  and  this  spread  from  there  to 
China  in  the  first  half  of  the  seventh  century.  Sugar  refining, 
however,  could  not  then  have  been  known,  for  Marco  Polo1 
states  that  the  Chinese  learned  this  from  Egyptian  travelers 
only  during  the  Mongol  period,  some  five  hundred  years  later. 
Von  Lippmann  says  that  solid  sugar  began  to  be  known  in 
India  somewhere  between  300  and  600  A.  D.,  probably  nearer 
the  latter  date.2  In  the  Middle  Ages,  the  best  sugar  came  from 
Egypt3;  and  in  India  today,  coarse  sugar  is  still  called  "Chi- 
nese" and  fine  sugar  "Cairene"  or  "Egyptian." 

The  Nestorians,  a  Christian  religious  sect  in  Gondisapur, 
India,  planted  sugar  cane  in  Persia  about  500  A.D.  When  Hera- 
clius,4  the  Byzantine  emperor,  pillaged  the  palace  of  Dastar- 
gerd,  Persia,  in  627  A.  D.,  solid  sugar  was  taken  among  the 
other  loot.5  This  is  the  first  authentic  evidence  of  crystalliza- 
tion. At  the  time  of  the  Arabian  conquest  in  the  year  639,  sugar 

i  Ed.  Yule,  II,  208-212.  2  Geschichte  des  Zuckers,  p.  89.  3  Kazwini,  I,  262. 
4  610-641  A.  D.  5  See  Greece  under  the  Romans,  by  George  Finlay,  LL.  D.,  page 
338;  "The  sixth  campaign  opened  with  the  Roman  army  in  the  plains  of  Assyria,  and 
after  laying  waste  some  of  the  largest  provinces  of  the  Persian  empire,  Heraclius 
marched  through  the  country  to  the  east  of  the  Tigris  and  captured  the  palace  of  Das- 
targerd,  where  the  Persian  monarchs  had  accumulated  the  greater  part  of  their  enor- 
mous treasure  in  a  position  always  regarded  as  secure  from  any  foreign  enemy." 


EARLY  HISTORY  I2I 

was  "prepared  with  art"  in  Gondisapur;  and  its  manufacture  on 
a  large  scale  was  carried  on  at  Shuster,  Sus1  and  Askar-Mak- 
ram2  through  the  Middle  Ages.  Thaalibi,  a  writer  of  the 
eleventh  century,  says  that  Askar-Makram  had  no  equal  for  the 
quality  and  quantity  of  its  sugar,  "notwithstanding  the  great 
production  in  Irak,  Jarjan  and  India."  It  used  to  pay  fifty 
thousand  pounds  of  sugar  to  the  Sultan  in  annual  tribute.3  Per- 
sian physicians  of  the  time  attributed  extraordinary  healing 
powers  to  sugar,  and  used  it  freely  in  the  practice  of  their  art. 

Mohammed's4  religious  wars  carried  the  knowledge  of  sugar 
throughout  the  cities  of  the  then  civilized  world.  The  Arabs 
first  learned  of  it  when  they  overran  Persia.  They  took  to  it 
eagerly,  and  under  their  rule  a  great  number  of  plantations 
were  started.  Artificial  irrigation  was  employed  in  the  growing 
of  the  cane,  and  the  juice  was  expressed  by  means  of  millstones. 
At  this  period,  however,  sugar  was  looked  upon  as  a  rare  and 
costly  luxury,  to  be  indulged  in  only  by  the  wealthy,  and  spar- 
ingly even  by  them. 

Arabian  doctors  who  were  well  advanced  in  learning  gave 
sugar  an  important  place  in  their  pharmacopoeia.  The  Moslem 
armies  took  it  westward  with  them ;  and  when  Amru5  conquered 
Egypt  (640-646  A.  D.),  it  was  introduced  in  that  country.  Care- 
ful methods  of  cultivation,  coupled  with  the  Egyptians'  inti- 
mate knowledge  of  chemistry,  brought  about  excellent  results. 
This  cultured  people  had  a  simple  process  for  purifying  and  re- 
crystallizing  saltpeter,  and  they  soon  found  that  sugar  could  be 
similarly  treated. 

The  first  crystals  were  remelted;  and  to  the  liquor  so  ob- 
tained albumen  and  lime  were  added.  The  precipitated  impuri- 
ties were  removed  by  filtration,  and  the  clear  syrup  boiled  down 
to  a  grain  once  more.  The  syrup,  or  mother-liquor  in  which 

1  In  Morocco.  *  Important  village  of  the  province  of  Kuzistan.  3  Lataif,  page 
107.  4  B.  57I-D.  632  A.  D.  5  Amr-ibn-el-Ass. 


122  HISTORICAL 

these  grains  remained  after  boiling,  was  eliminated  by  wash- 
ing, leaving  the  white  sugar  crystals,  which  in  point  of  quality 
far  surpassed  any  product  then  known. 

From  this  time  forward,  the  traffic  in  sugar  began  to  gain  in 
importance  and  volume.  Nasiri  Khosrau,  in  his  account  of  his 
travels  in  Egypt  in  the  eleventh  century,  narrates  that  at  the 
celebration  of  the  great  Ramazan  feast,  the  Sultan's  table  was 
decorated  with  sweetmeats  consisting  entirely  of  marzipan1 
modeled  into  shapes  of  orange  trees  and  statues. 

The  continuation  of  the  movement  of  the  Arabs  toward  the 
west  carried  the  cultivation  of  sugar  over  the  entire  northern 
coast  of  Africa  and  thence  into  Spain  in  the  year  of  the  con- 
quest of  Granada  by  the  Moors  (715  A.  D.).  It  made  its  way  to 
Sicily  in  703 ;  it  was  found  growing  at  Assuan,  on  the  Nile,  in 
766,  and  the  Crusaders  discovered  important  sugar  plantations 
in  Tripoli,  Mesopotamia,  Syria,  Palestine,  Antioch  and  other 
places  in  the  Levant.  Commercial  relations  between  these 
points  and  the  principal  Italian  cities  were  established  during 
the  Crusades,  and  a  considerable  trade  in  sugar  followed. 

Sugar-cane  cultivation  seems  to  have  appealed  to  the  Cru- 
saders as  a  profitable  venture — so  much  so  that  they  actively 
interested  themselves  in  it,  making  Tyre  an  important  center 
of  the  traffic.  King  Baldwin  and  various  orders  of  knighthood 
established  large  cane  plantations  in  Antioch,  Syria  and  Cyprus 
and  did  much  to  advance  sugar  production  in  those  countries. 

The  Crusaders  who  had  acquired  a  taste  for  sugar  when  in 
the  Far  east  naturally  wished  to  continue  its  use  after  their  re- 
turn home;  thus,  a  trade  sprung  up  between  northern  Europe 
and  Venice,  Genoa  and  Pisa. 

After  the  fall  of  Acre  in  1291,  the  Crusaders  lost  their  foot- 
hold in  Asia  Minor;  but  Tyre,  Beirut,  Antioch  and  the  valley 
of  the  Jordan  continued  to  produce  good  crops  of  sugar,  while 

*  Marchpane,  a  sweetmeat  made  of  sweet  almonds  and  pounded  sugar. 


EARLY  HISTORY 

Damascus  and  Tripoli  became  refining  centers.  Cyprus,  still 
under  Venetian  rule,  extended  its  trade  in  sugar,  and  sent  con- 
siderable quantities  annually  to  the  mother  city.  All  this  time 
the  production  in  Egypt  went  steadily  forward. 

This  prosperity  was  rudely  interrupted  by  the  aggression  of 
the  Turks.  Constantinople  was  captured  in  1453  and  Trebizond 
fell  in  1461.  The  other  commercial  towns  of  Asia  Minor  and 
all  of  Genoa's  Black  Sea  colonies  followed  in  quick  succession. 
Trade  between  Europe  and  Asia  Minor  decreased  as  a  matter 
of  course  and  the  manufacture  of  sugar  languished  under 
Turkish  rule. 

In  1517  Cairo  was  taken  by  the  Turks,  and  Egypt  became  a 
province  of  the  Ottoman  empire,  with  disastrous  results  to  the 
sugar  industry  there.  In  1522  Rhodes,  and  in  1571  Cyprus, 
passed  under  the  sway  of  the  Turk;  but  by  that  time  sugar  cul- 
tivation in  these  islands  had  fallen  off  greatly,  while  in  Sicily 
it  had  completely  died  out. 

Other  causes  militated  to  bring  about  the  decline  of  the 
sugar  trade  in  these  countries.  The  Portuguese  took  sugar 
cane  to  Madeira  in  1419.  In  1432  they  captured  and  colonized 
the  Azores ;  and  between  1456  and  1462  they  acquired  the  Cape 
Verde  islands.  Sao  Thome,  Principe  and  Annobon  were  an- 
nexed in  1496;  and  in  that  same  year  the  Spaniards  colonized 
the  Canaries.  Sugar  cane  grew  luxuriantly  in  the  mild,  moist 
climate  of  these  islands,  and  the  cost  of  production  by  slave 
labor  was  so  low  that  neither  Cyprus  nor  Sicily  could  compete; 
consequently,  the  once  large  and  prosperous  sugar  trade  of  the 
Mediterranean  became  a  thing  of  the  past. 

During  the  Middle  Ages,  Venice  was  the  chief  sugar-dis- 
tributing center  in  Europe.  One  of  the  earliest  references  to 
sugar  in  Great  Britain  is  that  concerning  one  hundred  thousand 
pounds  shipped  to  London  in  1319  by  Tomasso  Loredano,  a 
Venetian  merchant.  Wool,  which  at  that  time  constituted  the 


124  HISTORICAL 

most  important  staple  of  English  products,  was  exchanged  for 
sugar.  In  the  same  year,  an  entry  appears  in  the  accounts  of  the 
Chamberlain  of  Scotland,  showing  a  payment  for  sugar  at  the 
rate  of  one  shilling  and  nine  pence  halfpenny  per  pound.  It  is 
said  that  at  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  century  a  citizen  of  Venice 
received  a  reward  of  100,000  crowns  ($111,940)  for  having  in- 
vented the  process  of  making  loaf  sugar.  Vasco  da  Gama's  ex- 
ploit in  finding  the  way  to  Calicut  by  sea  in  1498  deprived 
Venice  of  her  position  as  a  dominant  commercial  center;  and 
new  routes  for  the  worldVtrade  were  opened  up.  The  discovery 
of  America  exercised  a  still  greater  influence  upon  the  produc- 
tion and  distribution  of  sugar. 

Christopher  Columbus'  first  attempt  to  establish  sugar  grow- 
ing in  Santo  Domingo  in  1493  '  was  not  a  success ;  but  when 
negro  slaves  were  brought  to  the  West  Indies  by  the  Portu- 
guese and  the  Spaniards,  the  industry  took  a  new  lease  of  life, 
and  with  slave  labor,  ideal  climate  and  fertile  soil,  it  increased 
abundantly.  As  illustrative  of  the  extensive  development  in 
Santo  Domingo,  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  Charles  V  of 
Spain  obtained  from  import  taxes  on  Santo  Domingan  sugar 
the  vast  sums  of  money  expended  in  the  building  of  the  royal 
palaces  at  Madrid  and  Toledo.2 

Brazil  was  discovered  by  Pinzon  in  I4993  and  sugar  cane  was 
taken  there  from  Madeira.  About  thirty-three  years  later  plan- 
tations had  been  laid  out  and  the  first  sugar  factory  built.  The 
year  1590  saw  one  hundred  and  two  mills  in  operation  in  the 
provinces  of  Bahia  and  Pernambuco ;  and  in  1600  the  quantity 
of  sugar  exported  from  Brazil  was  15,000  tons.  At  that  time 
Brazil  belonged  to  Spain,  which  had  annexed  Portugal  and  her 
colonies  in  1580.  It  was  conquered  by  the  Dutch  in  1629,  and  a 

1  Encyclopaedia  Britannica,  Vol.  XII,  p.  826,  gives  1506  as  date  of  introduction  of  sugar 
in  Santo  Domingo.  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  Vol.  XXVI,  p.  44,  says  sugar  carried  to 
Santo  Domingo  in  1494.  *  Encyclopedia  Britannica,  XXII,  p.  658.  3  O.  S. 


Gfwistcpfi& 


r 


Setfasiianc  S 


Copyright,  IQO6.     Braitn,  Clement  et  Cie.,  Braitn  ct  Cic..  Succcsscitrs 


EARLY  HISTORY 

great  many  sugar  plantations  and  factories  were  destroyed; 
but  these  were  subsequently  restored  by  the  new  rulers.  The 
Dutch,  in  turn,  were  expelled  in  1655;  and  in  1661  Brazil  was 
acknowledged  to  be  a  Portuguese  possession.  The  sugar  trade 
suffered,  however,  on  account  of  the  banishment  of  twenty 
thousand  Dutch  in  1655,  and  also  through  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  1725,  which  drew  the  laborers  from  the  sugar  fields  and 
mills ;  and  the  production  fell  off  to  a  large  extent. 

The  island  of  St.  Christopher  (now  St.  Kitts)  was  occupied 
in  1625  by  both  the  English  and  the  French.  Ten  years  later  the 
French  took  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique;  Barbados  became  a 
British  possession  in  1627,  and  Jamaica  was  annexed  in  1656. 
Sugar  cane  was  planted  in  all  these  colonies,  but  through  lack 
of  knowledge  and  experience  the  product  obtained  was  of  in- 
different quality.  A  decided  improvement  was  brought  about 
when  the  Dutch,  who  were  expelled  from  Brazil,  came  to  the 
islands  in  1655. 

Santo  Domingo  was  taken  over  permanently  by  the  French 
in  1697  after  it  had  previously  been  occupied  and  abandoned 
by  them.  From  this  date  the  industry  throve  there  and  for  up- 
ward of  one  hundred  years  Santo  Domingo  ranked  among  the 
foremost  of  the  sugar-producing  islands  of  the  West  Indies. 
Tyranny  and  cruel  treatment  caused  the  slaves  to  revolt  in 
1791;  the  whites  who  failed  to  escape  were  exterminated  and 
the  sugar  plantations  and  mills  were  destroyed. 

Santo  Domingo  has  never  recovered  the  prestige  in  the  sugar 
world  that  she  lost  in  this  way.  Her  misfortune  gave  a  great 
opportunity  to  Jamaica,  whose  production  increased  so  rapidly 
that  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  she  outstripped  all 
the  other  West  Indian  islands.  The  falling  off  in  Santo  Domingo 
stimulated  the  industry  in  Cuba  as  well.  As  a  dependency 
of  Spain,  Cuba  was  hampered  by  a  number  of  restrictions ;  these 
were  repealed  in  1 772,  after  which  the  sugar  tonnage  grew  apace. 


EARLY  HISTORY 

great  many  sugar  plantations  and  factories  were  destroyed; 
but  these  were  subsequently  restored  by  the  new  rulers.  The 
Dutch,  in  turn,  were  expelled  in  1655;  and  in  1661  Brazil  was 
acknowledged  to  be  a  Portuguese  possession.  The  sugar  trade 
suffered,  however,  on  account  of  the  banishment  of  twenty 
thousand  Dutch  in  1655,  and  also  through  the  discovery  of  gold 
in  1725,  which  drew  the  laborers  from  the  sugar  fields  and 
mills ;  and  the  production  fell  off  to  a  large  extent. 

The  island  of  St.  Christopher  (now  St.  Kitts)  was  occupied 
in  1625  by  both  the  English  and  the  French.  Ten  years  later  the 
French  took  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique;  Barbados  became  a 
British  possession  in  1627,  and  Jamaica  was  annexed  in  1656. 
Sugar  cane  was  planted  in  all  these  colonies,  but  through  lack 
of  knowledge  and  experience  the  product  obtained  was  of  in- 
different quality.  A  decided  improvement  was  brought  about 
when  the  Dutch,  who  were  expelled  from  Brazil,  came  to  the 
islands  in  1655. 

Santo  Domingo  was  taken  over  permanently  by  the  French 
in  1697  after  it  had  previously  been  occupied  and  abandoned 
by  them.  From  this  date  the  industry  throve  there  and  for  up- 
ward of  one  hundred  years  Santo  Domingo  ranked  among  the 
foremost  of  the  sugar-producing  islands  of  the  West  Indies. 
Tyranny  and  cruel  treatment  caused  the  slaves  to  revolt  in 
1791;  the  whites  who  failed  to  escape  were  exterminated  and 
the  sugar  plantations  and  mills  were  destroyed. 

Santo  Domingo  has  never  recovered  the  prestige  in  the  sugar 
world  that  she  lost  in  this  way.  Her  misfortune  gave  a  great 
opportunity  to  Jamaica,  whose  production  increased  so  rapidly 
that  at  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century  she  outstripped  all 
the  other  West  Indian  islands.  The  falling  off  in  Santo  Domingo 
stimulated  the  industry  in  Cuba  as  well.  As  a  dependency 
of  Spain,  Cuba  was  hampered  by  a  number  of  restrictions ;  these 
were  repealed  in  1772,  after  which  the  sugar  tonnage  grew  apace. 


126  HISTORICAL 

St.  Eustatius  and  Curasao  belonging  to  the  Dutch,  and  St. 
Croix,  St.  John  and  St.  Thomas  to  Denmark,  also  came  in  for 
their  share  of  the  benefit  growing  out  of  the  impetus  given  to 
the  sugar  trade  at  this  time.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  however, 
that  they  were  conveniently  situated  for  sugar  smuggling,  of 
which  there  was  not  a  little  during  the  American  Revolution- 
ary war. 

In  the  countries  of  South  America,  Brazil  excepted,  the  sugar 
trade  had  become  well  established.  French  planters  settled  in 
Cayenne  in  1634  and  in  Surinam  six  years  later,  but  production 
was  handicapped  by  the  difficulty  attendant  upon  securing 
labor,  and  this  condition  continued  to  exist  even  after  the  tak- 
ing of  Surinam,  Essequibo,  Demerara  and  Berbice  by  the 
Dutch.  Finally  the  trouble  was  overcome  by  bringing  in  slaves, 
and  with  the  end  of  the  French  war  the  sugar  industry  began 
to  prosper,  especially  in  Surinam.  During  subsequent  hostili- 
ties these  colonies  were  taken  by  France,  afterwards  by  Eng- 
land, and  later  still  they  reverted  to  the  Dutch.  Today  they  are 
all  British  with  the  exception  of  Surinam  and  Cayenne. 

Sugar  cane  was  not  known  in  Peru  at  the  time  of  Pizarro's 
first  expedition  to  that  country  (1527),  but  it  was  brought  there 
shortly  afterward.  In  Chile  and  the  Argentine  its  introduction 
was  comparatively  recent.  The  Jesuits  took  it  from  Santo  Do- 
mingo to  Louisiana  in  1751,  and  in  Mexico  it  dates  back  to  the 
time  of  Cortes. 

The  rapidity  of  the  increase  in  the  production  of  the  Ameri- 
cas threatened  the  plantations  of  Madeira,  the  Cape  Verde 
islands  and  the  Canaries  with  extinction  and  drove  them  from 
the  world's  markets. 

Sugar  cane  was  planted  by  the  French  in  the  lie  de  France 
(Mauritius)  in  1747,  and  some  years  later  in  Bourbon  (Re- 
union) and  sugar  made  in  these  islands  was  sent  to  Europe 
about  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century. 


EARLY  HISTORY  I2;- 

In  Java  sugar  cane  has  been  grown  since  a  very  remote  pe- 
riod. It  was  probably  brought  there  by  Chinese  traders  and 
there  is  evidence  that  the  Chinese  introduced  it  in  the  Philip- 
pine islands,  as  the  names  of  the  implements  and  methods  used 
there  distinctly  point  to  Chinese  origin. 

The  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  in  Australia  was  begun  only 
fifty  years  ago;  it  was  started  in  the  Fiji  islands  in  1880,  while 
Captain  Cook  found  cane  growing  luxuriantly  in  the  Hawaiian 
islands  when  he  discovered  them  in  1778. 

The  wars  between  Great  Britain  and  France  during  the  lat- 
ter part  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  the  beginning  of  the 
nineteenth  had  a  very  bad  effect  on  the  cane-sugar  trade  and 
its  development.  There  was  constant  fighting  in  West  Indian 
waters  and  many  merchant  vessels  were  taken  as  prizes ;  a  dis- 
astrous state  of  affairs  for  planters  and  merchants  alike.  After 
the  battle  of  Trafalgar  had  definitely  established  British  su- 
premacy on  the  seas,  Napoleon  put  into  effect  his  "Continental 
System/'  which  dealt  a  severe  blow  to  cane  sugar.  This  opens 
up  a  new  and  interesting  chapter  in  the  history  of  the  industry. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

THE  destruction  of  the  French  fleet  by  Nelson  in  1805 
thwarted  Napoleon's  long-cherished  plans  for  the  inva- 
sion of  England.  Nothing  daunted,  however,  he  immedi- 
ately bent  his  efforts  toward  isolating  Great  Britain  and  cut- 
ting commercial  communications  between  her  and  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  The  Berlin  edict  of  1806  prohibited  all  trade 
relations  with  England  and  made  her  goods  and  those  of  her 
colonies  subject  to  seizure.  England's  reply  was  to  forbid  ships 
of  all  nationalities  to  enter  French  ports  under  penalty  of  con- 
fiscation. Napoleon  followed  this  with  the  Milan  decree  which 
made  any  vessel  that  had  submitted  to  English  examination  or 
paid  dues  in  English  ports  subject  to  confiscation.  The  one  gov- 
ernment vied  with  the  other  in  preying  on  commerce.  The  in- 
terference with  the  importation  of  sugar  due  to  this  condition 
drove  prices  upward  to  a  point  where  only  a  few  could  afford 
its  use. 

Napoleon  was  fully  cognizant  of  what  a  privation  this  was 
to  his  people,  but  he  felt  confident  that  means  would  be  found 
to  bring  sugar  from  the  Far  east  to  western  Europe  by  way  of 
Constantinople  and  Vienna;  besides,  he  had  strong  hopes  that 
a  substitute  for  cane  sugar  could  be  produced  in  Europe  itself. 
He  encouraged  experimental  and  research  work,  keeping  thor- 
oughly informed  as  to  progress  made,  and  on  March  25,  1811, 
he  issued  the  famous  decree  that  set  in  motion  the  beet  industry 
of  the  world. 

The  original  home  of  the  sugar  beet  (Beta  vulgarls)  is  not 
definitely  known.  The  plant  was  found  in  a  wild  state  in  south- 
ern and  middle  Asia  and  it  is  said  to  have  been  cultivated  in 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE  I2g 

southern  Europe  and  northern  Africa  in  olden  times.  According 
to  Professor  Griffin,1  Herodotus  mentions  the  sugar  beet  as  one 
of  the  plants  that  served  to  nourish  the  builders  of  the  pyramids. 
Dr.  von  Lippmann  cites  the  same  instance  and  also  quotes  Voltz 
as  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  Romans  first  brought 
the  beet  into  Gaul. 

When  the  beet  was  originally  grown  in  southern  latitudes  it 
was  an  annual,  but  when  it  was  taken  north  it  became  a  bien- 
nial, storing  sugar  the  first  year  and  not  developing  its  seed 
until  the  second. 

Jules  Helot,  an  eminent  French  authority,  in  his  "Histoire 
Centennale  du  Sucre  de  Betterave,"  says : 

"A  great  French  agronomist,  called  the  father  of  agriculture, 
Olivier  de  Serres  (1539-1619),  was  able  to  find  out  that  the 
beet-root  contained  sugar,  long  before  Marggraf  set  about  to 
extract  sugar  from  this  root.  Olivier  de  Serres  wrote:  'The 
beet-root,  when  being  boiled,  yields  a  juice  similar  to  syrup  of 
sugar,  which  is  beautiful  to  look  at  on  account  of  its  vermilion 
color1/1 

Eh*,  von  Lippmann,  however,  contends  that  Olivier  de  Serres 
never  claimed  in  his  writings  that  he  discovered  the  sugar  con- 
tent in  the  beet,  and  that  the  statement  "that  the  boiled  juice 
of  the  red  beet  was  similar  in  appearance  to  sugar  syrup"  can- 
not be  construed  as  evidence  that  de  Serres  actually  recognized 
the  presence  of  sugar  in  the  beet-root. 

In  the  year  1747  Andreas  Marggraf,  a  chemist  and  a  member 
of  the  Royal  Academy  of  Science  and  Literature  of  Berlin,  dem- 
onstrated that  various  kinds  of  beet-root  contained  sugar  and 
that  the  sugar  could  be  extracted  and  crystallized.  This  dis- 
covery, however,  was  regarded  for  many  years  as  being  merely 
a  laboratory  determination  and  without  practical  value.  In  1786 
Franz  Karl  Achard,  a  pupil  of  Marggraf,  attacked  the  problem 

«  Quar.  Jour,  of  Economics,  Vol.  XVII,  p.  I. 


130  HISTORICAL 

of  beet-root  cultivation  and  succeeded  in  extracting  sugar  from 
beets  on  a  scale  hitherto  unknown.  He  issued  a  report  of  the 
methods  employed  and  the  results  obtained  and  stated  that  a 
good  muscavado  sugar  should  be  made  from  beets  for  six  cents 
per  pound.  His  claims  met  with  incredulity  and  no  little  ridi- 
cule, but  the  French  Institute  made  a  careful  investigation  of 
what  he  had  done  and  found  that  the  sugar  content  of  the 
beets  was  over  6  per  cent.  From  a  number  of  tests  of  Achard's 
process,  they  estimated  that  the  cost  of  producing  refined  sugar 
from  beet-roots  on  a  commercial  basis  would  be  eighteen  cents 
per  pound. 

Frederick  William  III,  king  of  Prussia,  took  a  keen  interest 
in  the  making  of  sugar  from  beets,  and,  after  having,  convinced 
himself  that  Achard  was  on  the  right  track,  he  bought  the 
crown  land  at  Cunern,  Silesia,  for  exploitation  on  a  large  scale 
He  provided  Achard  with  funds  for  the  erection  of  the  first 
real  sugar  factory  built  in  Germany,  at  which  operations  were 
begun  in  1802.  The  king  also  supplied  money  for  the  construc- 
tion of  other  factories  in  Brandenburg,  Silesia,  and  Pomerania, 
and  lent  his  support  to  the  growers  of  beets  as  well  as  to  the 
manufacturers  of  sugar.  Despite  the  reverses  in  war  suffered  by 
the  Prussians,  the  progress  in  sugar  making'was  so  manifest 
that  in  1810  it  was  clear  that  the  industry  was  bound  to  succeed 
under  intelligent  management. 

Achard,  who  was  of  French  extraction,  had  corresponded 
with  a  number  of  scientific  men  in  France  and  through  them 
reports  of  his  work  reached  the  French  Institute.  The  verdict  „ 
of  this  body  was  favorable  and  two  sugar  factories  were  built, 
one  at  St.  Ouen  and  the  other  at  Chelles.  Both  of  these  enter- 
prises failed  through  lack  of  practical  knowledge  and  the  in- 
ferior quality  of  the  beet-roots.  Although  this  setback  brought 
the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  to  a  standstill  for  a  time,  there 
is  plenty  of  evidence  to  show  that  hope  of  ultimate  success  was 


FRANZ 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE  131 

never  abandoned.  The  effect  of  the  closing  down  of  these  two 
beet  factories  was  to  divert  the  attention  of  scientists  to  making 
sugar  from  grapes.  Proust  and  Parmentier,  both  chemists  of 
note,  demonstrated  that  it  could  be  obtained  from  this  source 
and  the  French  government  issued  instructions  for  the  prepar- 
ation of  sugar  and  syrup  from  the  vine.  Parmentier  published 
a  bulletin  advising  against  the  attempt  to  make  beet  sugar  in 
France  as  the  soil  of  the  country  would  not  produce  beet-roots 
containing  sugar.  In  1810  Napoleon  ordered  an  appropriation  of 
200,000  francs  to  be  divided  as  a  premium  among  the  factories 
recovering  the  highest  percentage  of  sugar  from  grapes.  Mean- 
while the  friends  of  the  beet  movement  had  not  been  idle,  and 
early  in  March,  1811,  the  Society  for  the  Encouragement  of 
National  Industry  submitted  to  the  emperor  a  report  of  what 
had  been  accomplished  in  the  manipulation  of  beets,  together 
with  samples  of  the  sugar  obtained,  and  on  the  25th  of  that 
month  Napoleon  issued  the  edict  that  established  the  manu- 
facture of  beet  sugar  in  France.  The  decree  provided  that  79,000 
acres  of  land  in  various  parts  of  the  empire  should  be  devoted 
to  the  raising  of  beets  and  directed  that  all  the  acreage  named 
should  be  under  cultivation  the  first  year,  or  at  latest  the  sec- 
ond. It  created  six  experimental  stations  for  the  instruction  of 
the  farmers  and  land  owners  in  cultivation  and  also  for  the  fur- 
therance of  the  interests  of  the  manufacturer. 

Delessert  had  established  a  factory  at  Passy  in  1801  and  by 
dogged  perseverance,  despite  many  failures,  obtained  excellent 
results  by  a  new  method  of  clarification  and  the  use  of  charcoal. 
Napoleon  visited  his  plant  in  1812  and  ordered  the  construction 
of  ten  new  factories  at  once.  On  January  i,  1813,  all  further  im- 
ports of  sugar  from  the  East  and  West  Indies  were  prohibited. 

In  1812  and  1813  the  output  of  sugar  in  France  was  2200  tons 
and  the  factories  of  Germany  and  Austria  gave  promise  of  soon 
supplying  the  wants  of  their  respective  countries.  During  the 


132  HISTORICAL 

following  two  years  there  were  unusually  heavy  rains  and  the 
beet  fields  of  France  were  occupied  by  hostile  troops.  The  de- 
feat of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo  and  the  consequent  abolition  of 
the  blockade  caused  a  decline  in  the  price  of  sugar  to  a  point 
where  the  new  beet  industry  was  unable  to  compete  and  only 
one  factory  succeeded  in  avoiding  the  general  disaster. 

From  1816  to  1821  the  average  yearly  output  of  beet  sugar 
was  1000  tons.  The  domestic  product  had  a  great  advantage 
over  the  foreign  article,  as  all  sugars  coming  into  France  from 
abroad  were  subject  to  a  heavy  duty,  while  no  tax  was  levied  on 
home-grown  sugar.  In  1821,  a  duty  of  49.5  francs  was  imposed 
upon  every  100  kilograms  (220.4622  Ibs.)  of  raw  sugar  coming 
from  French  colonies  and  70  francs  on  white  sugar.  The  tax  on 
sugar  from  foreign  countries  was  90  francs  per  100  kilograms, 
and  this  was  increased  to  125  francs  in  1829. 

Shortly  afterward  the  surtax1  on  foreign  sugar  was  increased 
and  an  extra  duty  was  exacted  on  sugar  brought  into  France 
in  foreign  bottoms.  Even  with  this  protection  the  domes- 
tic producers  were  not  satisfied.  French  colonial  sugar,  when 
exported,  received  the  benefit  of  customs  drawback  of  120 
francs  per  100  kilograms,  and  the  same  privilege  was  accorded 
home-grown  sugar  upon  which  no  duty  whatever  had  been  paid. 
This  was  tantamount  to  an  export  premium  of  120  francs  per 
100  kilograms,  and  it  may  well  be  imagined  that  under  this  pa- 
ternal arrangement  old  factories  came  back  to  life  and  new  ones 
sprang  into  being.  Under  this  regime  by  1836  nearly  one-third 
of  the  sugar  refined  in  France  was  beet.  The  payment  of  this 
premium  was  so  great  a  drain  on  the  government  treasury  that 
in  1840  the  authorities  seriously  considered  the  buying  up  of  all 
the  beet-root  sugar  factories  then  in  operation  for  forty  million 
francs  and  the  equalizing  of  the  tax  on  foreign  and  domestic 
sugar.  The  scheme  was  not  carried  out,  but  in  1843  beet-root 

1  The  excess  of  import  duty  over  the  domestic  revenue  tax. 


NAPOLEON  I 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

sugar  and  cane  sugar  were  placed  on  the  same  basis.  This  hurt 
the  domestic  industry  severely,  and  if  it  had  not  been  for  the  set- 
back to  the  cane  production  by  the  abolition  of  slavery,  the  beet 
interests  might  have  met  with  ruin.  Nevertheless,  in  spite  of 
many  adverse  turns  of  fortune,  the  general  trend  was  forward. 

Beginning  with  the  year  1836,  the  beet-sugar  industry  in  Ger- 
many, which  had  been  paralyzed  by  the  raising  of  the  Conti- 
nental blockade,  went  ahead  rapidly.  The  German  manufactur- 
ers gradually  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  higher  extraction  of 
sugar  from  the  beet  and  consequently  their  operations  showed 
an  increased  profit.  Krause  of  Austria  and  Schubarth  of  Prus- 
sia, both  of  whom  had  studied  beet-sugar  making  in  France, 
did  much  by  their  efforts  to  rehabilitate  the  industry  in  Ger- 
many, where  it  has  steadily  grown  in  importance  ever  since. 

The  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  was  revived  by  Austria  in 
1831  and  by  1840  there  were  many  factories  in  operation.  In 
1854  the  output  of  domestic  sugar  equaled  the  tonnage  brought 
in  from  foreign  countries  and  beet  sugar  had  established  itself 
throughout  Europe  as  a  strong  competitor  of  the  cane  sugar  of 
the  colonies. 

The  European  consumption,  however,  had  grown  at  such  a 
rate  that  the  domestic  beet-sugar  production  did  not  keep  pace 
with  it,  hence  the  cane  manufacturer  was  scarcely  sensible  of 
the  competition  for  some  years;  in  fact  Europe  took  rather 
more  than  less  cane  from  the  tropics  for  a  time. 

During  the  nineteenth  century  Europe  became  less  and  less 
dependent  upon  the  cane  countries  of  the  New  world  for  its 
supplies.  The  abolition  of  slavery  in  most  of  the  European 
possessions  (1825-50),  the  development  of  the  cultivation  of 
cane  in  India  and  Java,  and  the  expansion  of  the  bounty-fed 
beet-sugar  industry  in  Europe  all  contributed  to  bring  this 
about  and  many  colonial  cane  growers  found  themselves  on  the 
brink  of  ruin. 


134  HISTORICAL 

Slavery,  upon  which  cane  sugar  raising  so  greatly  depended, 
was  entirely  abolished  in  British  possessions  in  1834,  in  France 
in  1848  during  the  Second  Republic,  in  the  Dutch  West  Indies 
in  1863,  in  Porto  Rico  in  1873,  in  St.  Thomas  in  1876,  and  in 
Cuba  in  1880.  Great  Britain  appropriated  the  sum  of  £20,000,- 
ooo  sterling  as  an  indemnity,  and  of  this  £  16,500,000  went  to 
West  Indian  planters,  the  remainder  going  to  Mauritius  and 
the  Cape,  but  indemnification,  while  most  welcome,  did  not  re- 
store the  supply  of  labor.  Many  of  the  freed  slaves  refused  to 
work  and  great  numbers  -of  them  left  the  plantations.  British 
colonists  were  at  a  serious  disadvantage,  too,  as  after  their 
slaves  were  liberated  slavery  still  existed  in  other  West  Indian 
islands,  and  to  offset  this  a  special  import  tax  was  imposed  on 
sugar  produced  by  slave  labor. 

Strenuous  efforts  were  made  to  secure  an  adequate  labor  sup- 
ply. Chinese  coolies,  free  negroes  and  Hindus  were  tried,  but 
the  cost  was  great  and  the  number  available  was  insufficient  for 
the  proper  cultivation  and  upkeep  of  the  plantations.  This  con- 
dition obtained  in  the  British  West  Indies,  Cuba,  Louisiana, 
Peru,  Brazil,  the  Guianas,  Mauritius,  Reunion  and  other  places, 
and  the  cane  growers  had  hard  work  to  keep  from  going  under 
during  the  adjustment  period,  when  they  were  learning  how  to 
operate  their  plantations  with  a  limited  number  of  hands.  Im- 
portation of  labor,  subdivision  of  cane  lands  into  small  tracts, 
to  be  rented  or  sold  to  farmers — many  plans  were  tried — but 
naturally  under  such  circumstances  development  was  impos- 
sible, and  beet  sugar,  which  had  been  steadily  increasing,  finally 
outstripped  cane  in  1883-84,  while  in  1899-1900  cane  only  fur- 
nished 34.7  per  cent  of  the  world's  crop.  In  1912-13  the  cane 
tonnage  exceeded  that  of  beet  by  211,082  tons  of  2240  pounds. 
The  great  war  in  Europe  has  curtailed  the  production  of  beet 
sugar  in  that  country  to  such  an  extent  that  of  the  world's  out- 
put for  1915-16  the  proportion  of  cane  to  beet  was  roughly  as 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

two-thirds  to  one-third  in  favor  of  the  former.  The  actual 
figures  are : 

Cane  10,533.039  tons 

Beet  5,986,404  " 


Excess  of  cane  over  beet  4,546,635  tons 

The  following  table  giving  the  world's  production  of  cane 
and  beet  from  1852  to  1916  will  be  of  interest,  but  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind  that  this  comparison  between  beet  and  cane  is 
not  a  fair  one,  because  the  figures  are  incomplete  as  far  as  cane 
is  concerned. 

In  some  instances  in  former  years,  only  the  quantity  ex- 
ported from  a  country  was  included  in  the  world's  statistics 
and  the  amount  consumed  at  home  was  left  out  of  the  calcula- 
tions. This  is  particularly  noticeable  in  the  case  of  India,  whose 
production  of  over  two  million  tons  of  sugar  annually  was 
omitted  from  the  older  estimates  as  it  all  went  into  domestic 
consumption — while  the  beet  figures  were  invariably  given  in 
full. 

The  world's  crop  figures  as  furnished  by  Willett  &  Gray  for 
the  period  from  1852  to  1916  include  British  India's  production 
for  the  last  eleven  years  only: 

BEET-ROOT 


YEAR 

SUGAR 

CANE  SUGAR 

TOTAL            PER  CENT 

TONS 

TONS 

TONS            CANE  SUGAR 

1852-53 

2O2,8lO 

1,260,404 

1,463,214       86.0 

1859-60 

451,584 

1,340,980 

1,792,564            74-3 

1864-65 

529,793 

1,446,934 

1,996,727            73.5 

1869-70 

846,422 

1,740,793 

2,586,915            67.3 

1874-75 

1,302,999 

1,903,222 

3,206,221            594 

1  880-8  1 

1,820,734 

2,027,052 

3,847,786            52.7 

1883-84 

2,485,300 

2,2IO,OOO 

4,695,300       47-0 

1884-85 

2,679,400 

2,225,000 

4,904,400       454 

136 


HISTORICAL 


YEAR 

BEET-ROOT 
SUGAR 

CANE  SUGAR 

TOTAL 

CANE  SUGAR 

TONS 

TONS 

TONS 

PER  CENT 

1885-86 

2,I72,2OO 

2,300,000 

4,472,200 

Si-4 

1886-87 

2,686,7OO 

2,4OO,OOO 

5,086,700 

47-i 

1887-88 

2,367,200 

2,541,000 

4,908,200 

Si-7 

1888-89 

3,555,900 

2,359,000 

5,914,900 

40.0 

iSSQ-QO 

3,536,700 

2,138,000 

5,674,700 

37-7 

1890-91 

3,679,800 

2,597,ooo 

6,276,8OO 

41.2 

I89I-92 

3,480,800 

3,501,900 

6,982,7OO 

51-6 

1892-93 

3,380,700 

3,040,500 

6,42I,2OO 

47-3 

1893-94 

3,833,000 

3,561,000 

7,394,000 

48.2 

1894-95 

4,725,800 

3,531,400 

8,257,200 

42.7 

1895-96 

4,220,500 

2,839,500 

7,160,000 

39-6 

1896-97 

4,801,500 

2,841,900 

7,643,400 

37-2 

1897-98 

4,695,300 

2,868,900 

7,564,200 

38.0 

1898-99 

4,689,600 

2,995,400 

7,785,000 

38.5 

I899-OO 

5,410,900 

2,880,900 

8,291,800 

34-7 

I9OO-OI 

5,943,700 

3,646,000 

9,589,700 

38.0 

I9OI-O2 

6,800,500 

4,079,000 

10,880,500 

37-5 

I9O2-O3 

5,208,700 

4,163,900 

9,372,600 

44-4 

1903-04 

6,089,468 

4,244,206 

io,333,674 

41.0 

1904-05 

4,918,480 

4,613,540 

9,532,020 

48.4 

1905-06 

7,217,366 

6,733,626 

13,950,992 

48.2 

1906-07 

7,143,818 

7,334,207 

14,478,025 

50.6 

1907-08 

7,002,474 

6,912,520 

13,914,994 

49.6 

I9O8-O9 

6,927,875 

7,634,125 

14,562,000 

524 

I9O9-IO 

6,587,506 

8,339,888 

13,927,394 

59-8 

I9IO-II 

8,560,346 

8,421,534 

16,981,880 

49-5 

I9II-I2 

6,820,266 

9,066,964 

15,887,230 

57-o 

1912-13 

8,976,271 

9,232,543 

18,208,814 

50-7 

1913-14 

8,908,470 

9,879,275 

18,787,745 

54-3 

1914-15 

8,241,974 

10,165,565 

18,407,539 

55-2 

1915-16 

5,986,404 

10,533,039 

16,519,443 

637 

BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

France  held  the  first  place  in  output  of  beet  sugar  until  1880, 
when  Germany  took  the  lead  and  has  maintained  it  ever  since. 
The  beet  industry  assumed  important  proportions  in  Austria- 
Hungary,  Russia,  Holland  and  Belgium  shortly  after  1850,  but 
it  was  not  established  in  Sweden,  Spain  and  Italy  until  com- 
paratively recent  times. 

The  laws  that  were  passed  by  the  various  European  countries 
for  the  encouragement  and  protection  of  beet  sugar  were  so 
beneficial  in  their  effect  that  these  countries  not  only  were  able 
to  supply  their  own  domestic  demand,  but  found  themselves 
able  to  export  sugar.  This  stimulation  finally  led  to  abuses,  as  a 
result  of  which  the  Brussels  convention  was  brought  about  and 
the  bounties  abolished. 

Apart  from  certain  details,  the  various  regulations  in  Euro- 
pean countries  for  the  purpose  of  building  up  the  manufacture 
of  beet  sugar  and  making  it  a  revenue  producer  were  very  much 
alike.  The  essential  features  were  a  prohibitive  import  duty 
and  a  slightly  lower  excise  tax.  The  latter  provided  revenue  for 
the  government,  and  the  difference  between  the  import  duty  and 
the  excise  shut  out  foreign  competition  and  fixed  the  amount  of 
profit  the  domestic  beet-sugar  producer  could  make.  Still  worse, 
it  created  pools  or  combinations  for  the  control  of  both  output 
and  price. 

With  increased  production,  which  was  more  than  sufficient 
to  supply  the  home  demand,  these  countries  were  in  a  position 
to  export  sugar,  and  in  order  to  enable  their  manufacturers  to 
compete  in  outside  markets,  a  drawback  of  the  excise  was  al- 
lowed on  all  exported  sugar.  A  peculiar  condition  of  the  law 
affecting  this  drawback  was  that  it  really,  though  not  directly, 
provided  for  a  bounty  on  export  sugar,  and  while  this  was  not 
the  original  intent  of  the  law,  the  improvements  that  it  en- 
couraged accomplished  the  purpose. 

In  Germany  the  principle  was  that  the  excise  was  levied  upon 


138  HISTORICAL 

the  quantity  of  beet-root  sliced,  while  the  export  drawback  was 
allowed  on  the  actual  sugar  produced.1  At  the  time  of  the  pass- 
ing of  the  law  that  was  in  operation  from  September,  1869,  to 
July,  1886,  the  assumption  was  that  the  yield  in  sugar  would 
be  8.51  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  beets,  allowing  11.75  tons 
of  beets  for  one  ton  of  sugar,  and  on  all  raw  sugar  exported  the 
manufacturer  was  given  $2.03  per  hundredweight  drawback, 
the  exact  equivalent  of  the  excise  tax,  which  was  17  cents  per 
hundredweight  of  beets. 

For  some  years  after  this  law  became  effective  it  took  twelve 
tons  of  beets  to  make  a  ton  of  sugar,  consequently  the  draw- 
back allowed  the  exporter  did  not  represent  all  of  the  excise. 
Thus  it  became  the  aim  of  the  manufacturers  to  raise  the  sugar 
content  of  the  beets  and  to  improve  the  extraction.  By  1882 
they  had  succeeded  so  well  that  a  ton  of  sugar  was  produced 
from  10.46  tons  of  beet-roots  instead  of  11.75  tons,as  predicated 
when  the  law  was  drawn  up.  The  drawback,  however,  was  still 
allowed  at  the  rate  of  $2.03  per  hundredweight,  which  netted 
the  producer  a  clear  gain  of  22  cents.2 

In  France  from  1864  to  1875  the  calculations  were  made  from 
the  quantity  and  purity  of  the  juice.  In  other  words,  a  certain 
arbitrary  rendement*  of  sugar  from  the  beet-root  was  the  basis 
of  taxation,  while  any  excess  recovery  was  exempt.  This  was 
equivalent  to  an  indirect  bounty,  but  the  French  government 
saw  to  it  that  the  estimates  and  the  actual  outturn  did  not  get 
too  far  apart.  No  bounty  whatever  was  paid  on  French  sugar 
from  1875  to  1884. 

About  1880  the  sugar  production  of  Germany  exceeded  that 
of  France,  so  that  in  1884  the  French  authorities  revived  the  in- 
direct bounty  system  to  put  new  life  into  the  industry,  and  the 
effect  of  this  action  was  soon  apparent. 

*  When  exported,  of  course.        2  Roy  G.  Blakey,  Ph.  D.  The  United  States  Beet  Sugar 
Industry  and  the  Tariff,  Columbia  University,  1912.        3  Actual  production  in  sugar. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

Sugar  legislation  in  other  sugar- producing  countries  of 
Europe  was  similar  in  general  principles  and  gave  practically 
the  same  results.  Amendments  were  made  from  time  to  time 
with  a  view  to  bringing  the  basis  provided  for  in  the  law  closer 
to  what  was  actually  attained  in  production,  but  the  manufac- 
turers by  constantly  improving  their  processes  managed  to 
keep  the  advantage  and  consequently  to  receive  a  secret  indi- 
rect bounty  or  rebate. 

The  payment  of  these  drawbacks  taxed  the  treasuries  of  the 
different  countries  concerned  and  in  the  case  of  Austria-Hun- 
gary amounted  to  more  than  the  entire  revenue  from  sugar. 
This  brought  new  regulations  and  the  payment  of  direct  boun- 
ties instead  of  hidden  or  indirect.  Furthermore,  a  limit  was  set 
upon  the  total  that  could  be  paid  in  any  one  year. 

Nevertheless,  the  producers  in  all  the  sugar-raising  countries 
used  their  utmost  efforts  to  send  as  much  sugar  as  they  possibly 
could  to  foreign  markets  in  order  to  secure  the  drawback.  It 
naturally  followed  that  the  production  was  stimulated  to  an  ab- 
normal degree,  and  toward  the  end  of  1883  there  was  a  slump 
in  prices  that  affected  all  raisers  of  sugar,  both  beet  and  cane, 
throughout  the  world. 

The  governments  of  Europe  came  to  find  these  bounties  a 
serious  burden,  and  when  Lord  Salisbury  arranged  for  a  con- 
vention to  be  held  in  London  in  1886,  the  proposal  to  do  away 
with  all  bounties  met  with  a  good  deal  of  favor.  France,  how- 
ever, opposed  the  idea,  as  she  wished  to  discontinue  the  direct 
bounty  only  and  to  leave  the  indirect  still  in  force,  while  the 
British  themselves,  who  used  prodigious  quantities  of  sugar 
and  who,  under  the  bounty  plan,  got  all  they  needed  at  a  price 
below  the  actual  cost  of  production,  did  not  wish  to  forfeit  this 
advantage.  So  the  interests  of  the  British  colonists  were  sacri- 
ficed and  the  London  conference  accomplished  nothing. 

In  1890  Germany  resolved  to  divest  sugar  of  all  its  privileges 


140  HISTORICAL 

in  order  that  the  treasury  should  receive  the  entire  amount  of 
the  taxes.  A  measure  was  proposed  in  1891  providing  for  direct 
export  bounty.  This  was  to  be  reduced  in  1895  and  entirely 
abolished  by  1897. 

Owing,  however,  to  a  severe  agricultural  crisis  at  this  time, 
American  cereals  were  brought  into  Europe  at  such  low  prices 
that  the  home  grower  could  not  compete.  It  therefore  became 
necessary  to  find  another  crop  for  the  land  that  had  been  sown 
to  corn  and  the  beet-root  was  the  logical  substitute.  The  in- 
crease in  beet  production  from  this  cause  was  followed  by  a 
crash  in  sugar  prices.  With  such  a  condition  confronting  it,  the 
German  government  could  not  do  away  with,  or  even  reduce, 
the  bounty,  especially  as  none  of  its  neighbors  seemed  to  have 
any  intention  of  doing  anything  in  this  direction.  In  the  inter- 
ests of  the  beet  growers,  the  output  of  beets  in  1895,  instead  of 
being  restricted  as  proposed,  was  doubled,  and  the  export 
bounty  on  raw  sugar  was  raised  from  I.251  marks  to  2.50  marks 
per  100  kilograms  and  on  refined  from  2  marks  to  3.55  marks 
per  100  kilograms. 

This  legislation  was  meant  to  foster  the  export  trade  and 
bring  the  sugar  business  of  foreign  countries  to.  German  manu- 
facturers, and  the  framers  of  the  law  were  confident  that  other 
countries  would  not  venture  to  follow  suit.  In  this  they  were 
utterly  mistaken.  Germany's  competitors  simply  raised  their 
bounties  to  her  figures,  thus  nullifying  her  plans  for  expansion 
of  her  export  sugar  trade. 

In  1897  the  United  States  levied  a  countervailing  duty  on  all 
bounty-nourished  sugar,  in  addition  to  the  regular  protective 
tariff,  so  that  the  bounty  paid  by  European  countries  on  sugar 
exported  to  the  United  States  simply  went  to  enrich  the  United 
States  treasury. 

The  manufacturers  of  Germany  and  Austria  enjoyed  a  profit 

*  Mark=23.8  cents  U.  S.  coin. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

over  and  above  the  bounty  by  the  adoption  of  what  was  termed 
a  cartel,  or  pool,  a  plan  borrowed  from  Russia. 

In  Russia  the  government  fixes  the  amount  of  sugar  required 
each  year  for  domestic  consumption  and  this  quantity  may  be 
sold  by  the  manufacturer.  Then  it  determines  what  quantity 
shall  be  kept  in  reserve,  to  be  sold  when  the  price  exceeds  that 
named  by  the  government  commission  (4.30  rubles1  per  pood2 
in  winter,  or  4.45  rubles  in  summer).  Should  the  production  ex- 
ceed the  amounts  fixed  for  domestic  consumption  and  reserve, 
exportation  is  permitted  and  the  exporter  gets  back  the  excise, 
1.75  rubles  per  pood,  or  if  he  elects  to  sell  this  excess  at  home,  he 
may  do  so  by  paying  double  tax,  or  3.50  rubles  per  pood.  Of  the 
alternatives,  exporting  the  surplus  is  the  more  advantageous  to 
the  owner  of  the  sugar,  as  the  fixed  price  for  domestic  sugar  is  a 
profitable  one.  He  therefore  can  afford  to.  take  a  loss  on  the 
sugar  he  sells  for  export  and  still  make  money  on  the  total 
operation.  The  stipulation  that  the  contingent  interest  in  the 
profitable  home  market  shall  keep  pace  with  the  growth  of  the 
output  of  the  factory  is  also  a  substantial  encouragement  to 
manufacturers  to  increase  their  production.  Regulations  like 
these  naturally  have  the  effect  of  supplying  foreign  markets 
with  cheap  sugar.  The  manufacturer  makes  an  excellent  profit 
and  the  domestic  consumer  pays  the  entire  bill. 

Primarily,  the  intent  may  have  been  to  keep  the  price  of  do- 
mestic sugar  at  one  level  and  to  enable  the  manufacturer  to  fill 
the  home  demand  without  having  to  go  outside  the  country  for 
his  raw-sugar  supply.  But  the  plan  in  its  actual  working  fosters 
exportation  at  the  expense  of  the  home  consumer. 

While  in  Russia  the  cartel  was  a  government  measure,  the 
pooling  of  interests  by  German  and  Austrian  manufacturers  in 
their  respective  countries  accomplished  the  same  end.  A  cartel 
formed  in  Russia  in  1890  came  to  grief  after  four  years 

^si  cents.        f  Pood=36.O7  pounds. 


I42  HISTORICAL 

through  the  individual  greed  of  its  members.  In  1898  a  new 
combination  of  raw-sugar  producers  and  refiners  was  formed, 
with  the  express  proviso  that  the  manufacturers  of  raws  were 
to  sell  their  product  only  to  refiners  who  were  members  of  the 
cartel.  The  domestic  trade  in  white  sugar  was  prorated  among 
the  refiners,  in  consideration  of  which  they  had  to  allow  the 
producer  a  fixed  price  of  30  kronen  ($6.08)  per  100  kilograms 
(220.4622  Ibs.)  for  raw  sugar,  the  market  price  of  which  was 
paid  by  the  buyer  and  the  difference  by  the  cartel,  which  got 
the  money  by  notching  up  the  price  of  domestic  refined  sugar. 
With  the  cartel  the  only  seller  of  refined,  and  sugar  from 
foreign  countries  shut  out  by  the  high  surtax  (the  difference 
between  the  impost  on  imported  and  domestic  sugars),  the 
consumer  had  to  pay  the  price  demanded  by  the  cartel  as  long 
as  the  difference  between  the  world's  price  and  that  established 
by  the  cartel  was  less  than  the  surtax. 

The  profit  thus  obtained  constituted  a  working  fund  to  be 
used  in  forcing  into  line  such  factory  owners  as  remained  out- 
side the  pool,  either  by  reducing  the  price  when  a  factory  was 
about  to  begin  to  make  white  sugar,  or  by  buying  stock  in  the 
corporations  that  still  held  out.  Out  of  the  rest  of  the  fund  was 
paid  the  difference  between  the  market  price  (with  22  kronen 
per  100  kilograms  as  a  minimum)  and  the  30  kronen.  Any 
amount  remaining  was  the  cartel's  profit.  To  illustrate  and  es- 
timating that  no  kilograms  of  raw  sugar  produced  100  kilo- 
grams of  refined : 

Price  of  refined  sugar  for  domestic  use 

per  220.4  Ibs.  $17.25 

Raw  sugar  242.4  Ibs.  @  $4.46  per 
220.4  Ibs.  $4.91 

Refining  cost  and  profit  1.53 

Revenue  tax  7.71       14.15 

Net  profit  of  cartel  $3.10 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

With  an  open  market  price  of  $4.46  for 
raws,  the  difference  between  that 
and  the  arbitrary  figure  of  $6.08  is 
$1.62  per  220.4  Ibs.  on  242.4  Ibs.  1.78 


Net  profit  from  cartel  for  refiners  $1.32 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  abortive  results  of  the  Lon- 
don conference  of  1886,  when  a  deaf  ear  was  turned  to  the  ap- 
peal of  the  planters  of  the  British  West  Indies  on  account  of 
the  advantage  to  the  British  manufacturer  and  consumer  of 
securing  all  the  sugar  they  wanted  at  a  figure  lower  than  it  cost 
to  produce. 

In  1895,  Joseph  Chamberlain,  then  Colonial  Secretary  of 
Great  Britain,  appointed  a  royal  commission  to  investigate  con- 
ditions in  the  West  Indian  colonies.  The  facts  brought  out  in 
its  report  came  as  a  surprise  to  the  statesmen  of  the  mother 
country  and  remedial  measures  were  undertaken. 

The  anxiety  of  the  Austrian  and  German  governments  to 
get  rid  of  the  bounty  incubus  led  them  to  sound  France  as  to 
her  views,  and  in  1898  the  Belgian  government  invited  repre- 
sentatives of  Great  Britain,  Germany,  Austria,  the  Nether- 
lands, France,  Russia,  Spain  and  Sweden  to  meet  in  conference 
in  Brussels,  but  no  definite  agreement  was  arrived  at,  chiefly 
because  of  France's  unwillingness  to  discontinue  the  giving  of 
indirect  bounty.  The  meeting  adjourned  on  June  ist  with  the 
understanding  that  it  would  again  convene  at  the  call  of  Bel- 
gium, when  the  preliminary  negotiations  through  Belgium's 
good  offices  had  progressed  sufficiently  to  make  unanimity 
possible. 

Meanwhile,  public  opinion  in  England  with  regard  to  the 
West  Indies  had  undergone  a  change,  partly  on  account  of  the 
report  submitted  by  the  Chamberlain  commission  and  partly 


144  HISTORICAL 

owing  to  the  fact  that  Britain,  needing  the  support  of  her  colo- 
nies in  her  South  African  war,  was  anxious  to  shape  her  policy 
to  please  them. 

A  third  conference  was  held  in  Brussels  in  December,  1901. 

In  the  discussion  concerning  the  German  and  Austrian  car- 
tels, it  had  developed  that  the  heavy  surtax  permitted  the  Ger- 
mans and  Austrians  to  realize  such  high  prices  in  their  home 
markets  that,  even  with  the  bounty  repealed,  their  overpro- 
duction was  very  great  and  the  large  tonnage  exported  by  them 
depressed  values  in  foreign  markets.  Great  Britain  and  Bel- 
gium, therefore,  demanded  that  the  surtax  be  reduced  to  a 
point  where,  while  giving  protection  against  foreign  sugar,  it 
would  afford  no  inducement  for  the  formation  of  cartels.  Aus- 
tria and  Germany  demurred  to  this  and  it  looked  as  if  a  dead- 
lock would  again  be  reached,  when  Great  Britain  declared  that 
if  nothing  came  of  the  conference  a  measure  would  be  intro- 
duced in  Parliament  excluding  bounty-fed  sugars  entirely,  or 
that  some  action  equally  drastic  would  be  taken.  It  was  further 
pointed  out  that  an  extra  duty  of  an  amount  equal  to  the  cartel 
profit  had  already  been  under  consideration  by  the  Indian  gov- 
ernment. 

With  a  countervailing  duty  effective  in  the  United  States, 
the  market  of  Great  Britain  was  the  only  important  outlet  left 
for  bountied  export  sugars  from  the  Continent.  Then  again, 
the  British  colonies  had  to  be  reckoned  with,  for  if  preferential 
privileges  were  accorded  to  their  sugars  Continental  beet  would 
suffer.  Great  Britain's  ultimatum,  therefore,  carried  the  day, 
and  on  March  5, 1902,  the  convention  was  signed  by  the  plenipo- 
tentiaries of  Great  Britain,  France,  Germany,  Austria,  Belgium, 
Spain,  Italy,  the  Netherlands,  Norway  and  Sweden. 

The  most  important  provisions  of  the  convention  were: 

1.  The  suppression  of  all  bounties,  direct  or  indirect. 

2.  The  limitation  of  the  surtax,  i.  e.f  the  excess  of  import 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

duty  over  domestic  revenue  tax,  to  53  cents  per  100  pounds  on 
refined  and  48  cents  per  100  pounds  on  raw  sugar.1 

3.  Prohibition  of  importation  of  bounty-fed  sugar  from  other 
countries,  unless  a  countervailing  duty  is  imposed. 

4.  Great  Britain  and  the  Netherlands  pledge  themselves  that 
no  preferential  treatment  will  be  given  sugar  from  their  col- 
onies during  the  life  of  the  agreement. 

5.  The  agreement  to  come  into  force  September  i,  1903,  and 
to  remain  effective  for  five  years  from  that  date,  and  in  case 
none  of  the  signatory  powers  notifies  the  Belgian  government 
of  its  intention  to  withdraw,  it  shall  continue  to  remain  in  force 
for  one  year  and  so  on  from  year  to  year. 

6.  The  appointment  of  a  permanent  commission  charged 
with  supervising  the  execution  of  the  provisions  of  the  conven- 
tion. 

7.  Spain,  Italy  and  Sweden  not  to  be  bound  by  the  principal 
restrictions,  so  long  as  they  do  not  export  sugar. 

Russia  declined  to  come  into  the  pact,  stating  as  her  reason 
that  she  paid  no  bounty. 

Great  Britain's  action  in  joining  the  Brussels  convention 
aroused  a  good  deal  of  feeling  at  home.  The  contention  was 
made  that  it  worked  an  injury  to  the  British  consumer  in  caus- 
ing an  advance  in  prices;  it  was  also  argued  that  the  plea  put 
forth  in  behalf  of  the  West  Indies  was  really  instigated  by  the 
selfishness  of  British  investors  in  colonial  sugar  plantations. 
The  rise  in  price  that  followed  the  convention  was  stimulated 
by  the  shortage  in  the  European  beet  crop  in  1904,  and  pro- 
voked much  agitation  and  dissatisfaction  in  England,  so  that  it 
was  not  certain  that  Great  Britain  would  be  a  party  to  a  re- 
newal of  the  pact  upon  its  expiration. 

Subsequently  Peru,  Luxembourg  and  Switzerland  joined  the 
convention,  and  the  contracting  parties  were  so  well  satisfied 

1  Six  francs  and  five  and  one-half  francs,  respectively,  per  100  kilograms. 


146  HISTORICAL 

with  results  obtained  that  they  extended  the  agreement  for 
five  years  beginning  September  i,  1908.  The  conditions  were  to 
remain  unchanged,  except  for  an  amendment  that  permitted 
Great  Britain  to  disregard  the  article  that  prohibited  the  im- 
portation of  bountied  sugar,  unless  paying  countervailing  duty. 
This  prohibition  directly  affected  Russian  sugars,  of  which 
England  did  not  wish  to  be  deprived. 

Russia  joined  the  convention  in  1908,  with  the  understand- 
ing that  her  existing  fiscal  laws  and  excise  regulations  should 
not  be  interfered  with  and  that  the  method  of  fixing  the  price 
of  sugar  for  home  consumption  should  rest  undisturbed.  On 
her  part,  Russia  undertook  not  to  export  more  than  one  mil- 
lion tons  during  the  next  five  years  outside  of  Finland,  Persia 
and  neighboring  Asiatic  countries. 

The  convention  with  these  modifications  was  thus  extended 
to  September,  1913,  and  on  March  15,  1912,  it  was  agreed  to 
prolong  it  until  August  31,  1918,  on  practically  the  same  condi- 
tions as  the  1908  convention.  Because  of  the  great  drought  in 
central  Europe  in  the  summer  of  1911,  there  was  a  shortage  of 
2,000,000  tons  in  the  beet-sugar  crop  of  1911-12,  as  compared 
with  the  former  year,  and,  on  account  of  the  consequent  rise  in 
price,  England  demanded  that  the  Russian  exports  be  in- 
creased. The  other  signatory  powers  agreed  to  this  and  the 
amount  that  Russia  was  permitted  to  export  in  the  seven  years 
beginning  September  i,  1911,  was  fixed  at  1,650,000  tons. 

In  August,  1912,  Sir  Edward  Grey  gave  notice  of  Great 
Britain's  intention  to  retire  from  the  convention  on  September 
i,  1913,  and  on  that  date  she  ceased  to  be  a  party  to  it.  Never- 
theless, after  her  withdrawal  she  undertook  to  observe  all  the 
obligations  of  the  convention,  and  in  return  the  signatory  pow- 
ers agreed  not  to  discriminate  against  her  manufactures  of 
sugar. 

The  convention  stopped  exportation  of  beet  sugar  at  ab- 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  EUROPE 

normally  low  prices.  It  was  instrumental  in  lowering  the  rev- 
enue tax,  increasing  the  consumption  and  abolishing  artificial 
conditions. 

The  outbreak  of  the  war  in  Europe  in  August,  1914,  inter- 
rupted the  operations  of  the  convention,  and  it  remains  to  be 
seen  whether  or  not,  when  hostilities  come  to  an  end,  it  will  be 
renewed  and  its  terms  reaffirmed  according  to  procedure  cus- 
tomary when  peace  is  concluded  between  warring  nations. 

As  soon  as  the  industry  got  on  a  sound  basis,  cane  began  to 
feel  the  benefit  of  the  new  order  of  things.  Factories  that  had 
been  closed  were  put  in  operation  again  and  new  enterprises 
were  undertaken.  Up  to  the  year  1880  the  manufacture  of  cane 
sugar  had  been  conducted  in  a  slipshod  manner.  The  planters 
were  lavishly  extravagant  and  spent  their  incomes  as  they 
made  them,  giving  no  thought  to  putting  aside  funds  for  exten- 
sions and  betterments.  Hard  times  taught  them  a  severe  lesson, 
by  which  they  profited,  and  with  admirable  courage  they  bent 
all  their  energies  to  the  improvement  of  methods  of  cultivation 
and  cutting  down  the  cost  of  production.  This  was  particularly 
true  of  Java;  beginning  with  1884,  abundant  new  capital  was 
brought  in,  experimental  stations  and  laboratories  were  built 
and  equipped  and  all  that  scientific  knowledge,  energy  and 
sound  business  judgment  could  do  was  done.  At  the  same  time 
Hawaii,  Mauritius,  Porto  Rico  and  Cuba  made  extraordinary 
progress,  but  each  of  these  countries  deserves  an  individual 
chapter. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

WHILE  the  manufacture  of  sugar  from  beet-roots  is  one 
f  the  foremost  industries  in  the  United  States  today, 
he  early  stages  of  its  growth  and  development  were 
marked  by  numerous  failures  and  setbacks.  The  first  beginning 
was  made  by  a  company  "headed  by  John  Vaughn  and  James 
Ronaldson,  which  built  a  small  factory  in  Philadelphia  in  1830, 
where  a  few  hundred  pounds  of  sugar  were  produced.  Owing  to 
lack  of  knowledge  of  beet  culture  and  extraction  of  sugar  from 
the  roots,  the  venture  proved  unsuccessful  and  no  further  at- 
tempt has  been  made  in  Pennsylvania. 

Northampton,  Massachusetts,  was  the  scene  of  the  next  ex- 
periment in  1838  and  1839  by  David  Lee  Child,  who  had  studied 
the  growth  and  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  in  Europe  for  a  year 
and  a  half.  He  succeeded  in  getting  6  per  cent  of  sugar  and  2^/2 
per  cent  of  molasses  from  the  beets  and  his  estimate  of  the  cost 
of  the  sugar  per  pound  was  eleven  cents.  After  producing  1300 
pounds  of  sugar  he  abandoned  the  enterprise. 

A  report  made  in  1838  by  the  Committee  on  Agriculture,  a 
government  body,  contains  the  following  statement :  "From  all 
the  information  which  the  committee  have  been  able  to  obtain, 
they  are  induced  to  believe  that  no  country  in  the  world  is  bet- 
ter adapted  for  the  production  of  sugar  beets  than  most  parts 
of  the  United  States,  whether  we  consider  the  soil,  the  climate 
or  the  people."1 

In  1851  John  Taylor,  who  afterward  succeeded  Brigham 
Young  as  president  of  the  Mormon  church,  was  carrying  on 
missionary  work  in  England,  and  in  September  of  that  year  he 

i  Surface,  G.  T.,  Story  of  Sugar,  p.  115. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

met  Elias  Morris,  whom  he  engaged  to  go  to  Utah  to  establish 
a  plant  for  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar. 

Machinery  for  the  purpose  was  purchased  in  France  and  sent 
to  Liverpool,  from  where  it  was  shipped  to  New  Orleans  in 
charge  of  Morris  in  March,  1852.  From  New  Orleans  it  was 
taken  up  the  Mississippi  river  to  St.  Louis,  thence  to  Kanes- 
ville,  Ohio,  where  it  was  loaded  on  wagons  for  transportation 
across  the  plains.  The  journey  from  the  river  was  begun  on 
July  4th,  with  oxen  as  the  motive  power.  It  proved  long  and 
arduous,  but  the  members  of  the  party  reached  Green  river, 
Wyoming,  four  months  later,  having  suffered  much  from  hun- 
ger and  cold.  There  they  were  met  by  a  detachment  sent  out 
from  Salt  Lake  city  by  Brigham  Young  and  they  finally  ar- 
rived at  their  destination  about  the  middle  of  November. 

The  original  intention  was  to  start  operations  at  Provo,  and 
the  sugar  machinery  was  taken  there,  but  the  company  that 
John  Taylor  had  organized  was  dissolved  and  the  machinery 
turned  over  to  the  church,  under  whose  direction  it  was  in- 
stalled in  an  adobe  building  still  standing  in  Salt  Lake  city. 

Once  more  lack  of  knowledge  resulted  in  failure.  Instead  of 
sugar,  the  Mormons  only  succeeded  in  making  a  massecuite 
that  was  utterly  inedible.1 

In  1856,  a  coppersmith  named  Bepler  erected  a  small  beet- 
sugar  factory  at  Ocean  View,  near  San  Francisco,  California, 
but  the  enterprise  was  unsuccessful.2 

The  next  noteworthy  attempt  was  made  at  Chatsworth,  Illi- 
nois, in  1863  by  the  brothers  Gennert,  who  came  from  Braun- 
schweig, Germany,  and  who  were  familiar  with  the  methods  of 
beet-sugar  making.  They  formed  the  Germania  Beet  Sugar 
company,  planted  a  thousand  acres  of  land  in  beets  and  sent  to 
Europe  for  machinery,  but  their  highest  extraction  of  sugar 

i  Hardwick  Committee  Hearings,  62nd  Congress,  1st  Session,  p.  767.  2  Truman  G. 
Palmer. 


ISO  HISTORICAL 

from  the  beet-roots  was  only  5.5  per  cent.  Weather  conditions 
were  unfavorable  and  the  soil  they  selected  was  not  suited  to 
beet  culture,  so  six  years  of  effort  ended  in  failure  and  the  loss 
of  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  The  plant  was  re- 
moved to  Freeport,  Illinois,  where  the  final  result  was  disaster. 

Otto  and  Bonesteel,  two  Germans,  established  a  factory  at 
Fond-du-lac,  Wisconsin,  in  i866/  and  during  the  two  following 
years  they  achieved  some  measure  of  success.  Subsequently, 
they  moved  to  Alvarado,  California,  where  they  began  opera- 
tions in  1870.  They  managed  to  keep  their  factory  running  for  a 
few  years,  but  finally  gave  up  the  struggle  in  1876. 

In  1872  the  state  of  New  Jersey  passed  a  law  providing  that 
all  capital  and  property  employed  in  the  raising  of  sugar  beets 
should  be  free  from  taxation  for  ten  years.  New  ventures  were 
undertaken  in  California,  Delaware  and  Maine,  and  these  states 
stimulated  the  industry  by  bounties,  or  tax  exemption,  or  both. 
A  factory  was  built  at  Hartford,  Maryland,  in  1879,  but  it  was 
afterward  abandoned,  and  the  only  going  concerns  engaged  in 
the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar  east  of  the  Alleghanies  during 
recent  years  were  the  small  plants  in  New  York  at  Rome  and 
Lyons.  Dismantled  in  1905  and  1911,  respectively,  part  of  the 
machinery  of  the  former  was  moved  to  Visalia,  California,  and 
the  latter  plant  in^its  entirety  to  Anaheim,  California. 

All  of  these  failures  were  traceable  to  the  lack  of  practical 
knowledge  of  beet  culture  and  the  making  of  sugar  from  beet- 
roots. Then,  too,  the  agricultural  lands  at  first  selected  were 
unsuited  to  the  purpose  and  the  seed  used  up  to  the  year  1890 
gave  beets  of  a  low  sugar  content,  from  6  per  cent  to  8  per  cent. 
The  development  of  the  Western  states  gave  the  beet-sugar  in- 
dustry a  permanent  place  in  California,  and  a  little  later  in 
Utah,  Colorado,  Idaho,  Montana  and  Wyoming. 

The  California  Beet  Sugar  Manufacturing  company  was  or- 

«  Blakey. 


i  "  '1rtiL, 


E.  H.  DYER,  THE  FATHER  OF  BEET  SUGAR  IN  AMERICA 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

ganized  by  E.  H.  Dyer  and  C.  S.  Hutchinson  in  1869  with 
$250,000  capital  and  a  factory  was  erected  at  Alvarado  on  Mr. 
Dyer's  ranch.  Otto  and  Bonesteel  were  induced  to  leave  Fond- 
du-lac,  Wisconsin,  and  come  west  to  assume  the  management. 
Operations  were  begun  in  1870  and  on  November  i7th  of  that 
year  the  first  beet  sugar  was  made  in  California.  The  factory 
and  equipment  cost  $125,000;  the  daily  capacity  was  fifty  tons 
of  beets  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  men  were  employed. 
Between  one  thousand  and  fifteen  hundred  acres  were  planted 
in  beets,  the  factory  paying  $3.50  per  ton  for  them.  The  finished 
product  cost  about  ten  cents  a  pound,  while  the  market  price 
ranged  from  twelve  to  fifteen  cents  a  pound.  The  first  year's 
output  was  250  tons,  the  second  400  tons,  the  third  562  tons 
and  the  fourth  750  tons.  Then  financial  troubles  came  and  the 
plant  was  closed.  The  machinery  was  sold  to  a  new  concern, 
which  built  a  factory  at  Soquel,  Santa  Cruz  county.  This  enter- 
prise failed  in  1876,  but  the  plant  was  put  in  operation  again  in 
1880,  when  150  tons  of  sugar  were  produced.  That  was  the  end 
of  the  Soquel  venture. 

In  1879  Mr.  Dyer  bought  the  buildings  and  land  of  the  old 
California  Beet  Sugar  Manufacturing  company,  and,  with  O.F. 
Giffin,  formed  the  Standard  Sugar  Manufacturing  company, 
with  a  capital  of  $100,000.  Subsequently  a  reorganization  was 
effected  under  the  name  of  the  Standard  Sugar  Refining  com- 
pany and  the  capital  was  increased  to  $200,000.  The  machinery 
and  diffusion  batteries  of  a  plant  built  at  Brighton  by  some 
Sacramento  people  about  eight  years  previous  were  purchased 
and  installed  at  Alvarado  in  buildings  newly  erected  for  the 
purpose.  While  it  is  true  that  in  the  operation  of  this  company 
there  was  a  constant  struggle  to  overcome  obstacles  and  diffi- 
culties, it  is  nevertheless  a  fact  that  it  achieved  success  from  the 
beginning.  In  1884  the  capacity  of  the  mill  was  increased  to 
100  tons  of  beets  per  day,  but  disaster  overtook  the  concern 


152  HISTORICAL 

toward  the  end  of  1886.  Two  of  the  boilers  exploded,  making 
it  impossible  to  operate  during  the  season  of  1887-88. 

Nothing  daunted,  Mr.  Dyer  grappled  with  the  problem  once 
more  and  succeeded  in  floating  a  new  corporation,  the  Pacific 
Coast  Sugar  company,  with  $1,000,000  capital  and  headed  by 
John  L.  Howard  as  president.  In  1887  and  1888  this  company 
built  the  middle  part  of  the  present  factory  at  Alvarado,  where 
it  installed  most  of  the  machinery  from  the  old  plant,  together 
with  some  new  apparatus.  The  campaign  of  1888  was  barren  of 
results  and  in  March  of  the  following  year  the  Pacific  Coast 
Sugar  company  sold  its  property  to  a  new  concern,  the  Ala- 
meda  Sugar  company,  whose  first  president  was  M.  H.  Hecht. 
In  1890  two  additions  to  the  factory  were  built,  one  at  each  end. 

From  small  beginnings,  this  Alvarado  enterprise,  the  pioneer 
of  American  success  in  the  production  of  sugar  from  beets,  con- 
tinued its  yearly  operations  from  1879  until  1914,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  the  year  following  the  boiler  explosion.  In  1889  the 
output  was  872  tons,  in  1911  it  reached  9966  tons.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  1914,  sugar  prices  were  low  and  tariff  prospects  very 
discouraging.  Under  such  conditions,  the  owners  of  the  plant 
did  not  believe  that  they  could  make  sugar  at  a  profit,  and  the 
factory  remained  closed  during  that  season.  The  sharp  advance 
in  sugar  values,  due  to  the  war  in  Europe,  completely  changed 
matters;  beets  were  planted  and  6363  tons  of  sugar  were  pro- 
duced in  1915. 

For  a  long  time  Mr.  Dyer  was  looked  upon  as  an  enthusiast 
and  a  dreamer  whose  sincerity  was  unquestioned,  but  whose 
energies  were  misdirected.  In  the  midst  of  the  gloomy  fore- 
bodings of  those  around  him,  he  held  tenaciously  to  his  purpose 
and  devoted  his  brains  and  his  money  to  the  solution  of  the 
problem  confronting  him.  That  the  beet-sugar  industry  of  the 
United  States  proved  a  success  when  it  did  is  due  to  his  unfail- 
ing courage  and  persistent  effort. 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

A  year  before  the  Alvarado  factory  was  built,  a  number  of 
moneyed  men  of  Sacramento,  head  by  Julius  Wetzlar,  then 
president  of  the  Capital  savings  bank,  conceived  the  idea  of 
starting  a  beet-sugar  plant  there.  After  some  experimenting 
with  local  beets,  the  Sacramento  Valley  Sugar  company  was 
organized  and  machinery  for  a  seventy-ton  plant  was  ordered 
from  Germany.  Construction  was  delayed  for  a  year,  and  thus 
the  Sacramentans  lost  the  honor  of  being  the  first  in  the  field. 
In  1871  they  built  a  factory  at  Brighton,  six  miles  east  of  Sac- 
ramento, near  the  American  river.  An  expert  was  brought  out 
from  Germany  and  work  was  begun  on  November  i8th.  The 
first  diffusion  battery  used  in  the  United  States  was  employed 
in  the  extraction  of  sugar  from  the  beets.  The  season  of  1871 
gave  good  results,  but  the  following  year  the  crop  suffered 
greatly  from  the  ravages  of  the  army  worm.  The  campaign  of 
1873  opened  on  August  5 th,  lasting  until  November  22nd.  The 
yield  of  beets  was  ten  tons  per  acre,  the  average  sugar  content 
8  per  cent  and  the  total  output  982,120  pounds  of  sugar,  includ- 
ing all  grades. 

This  enterprise  struggled  along  until  1875,  in  spite  of  troubles 
from  drought,  army  worm,  grasshoppers  and  last,  but  not  least, 
lack  of  experience.  The  plant  was  then  closed  and  the  equip- 
ment put  up  for  sale.  Briefly,  it  may  be  said  that  at  the  outset 
very  poor  sugar  was  turned  out,  and  later,  when  the  quality  was 
improved,  the  cost  of  manufacture  was  found  to  be  greater 
than  what  the  sugar  would  bring.  The  final  outcome  was  that 
the  stockholders  lost  nearly  all  the  money  they  had  invested. 

About  1874,'  the  California  Sugar  Manufacturing  company 
was  formed.  Sixty-eight  acres  of  land  at  Isleton  were  bought, 
a  factory  structure  of  brick  was  erected  and  machinery  in- 
stalled, the  total  expenditure  being  about  $250,000.  Sugar  of 

*  Professor  George  W.  Shaw  says,  1877:  The  California  Industry,  Sacramento,  1903, 
page  ii. 


154  HISTORICAL 

good  quality  was  made,  but  the  financial  result  was  disastrous. 
Isleton  land  was  ill  suited  to  beet  culture,  as  when  the  Sacra- 
mento river  was  high  the  beet  fields  were  covered  with  water. 
One  authority  states  that  the  original  idea  was  to  manufacture 
sugar  from  watermelons,  and  when  it  was  found  that  this  was 
not  practicable,  attention  was  turned  to  beets. 

In  1876  numerous  mechanics'  liens  were  filed  against  the 
company.  Later,  the  factory  was  leased  to  H.  M.  Ames  of  Oak- 
land, who  operated  it  during  the  campaign  of  1880.  Two  years 
afterward  the  entire  plant  was  sold  at  sheriff's  sale  for  $10,000. 
The  land  and  building  were  purchased  by  P.  H.  Gardiner  of 
Isleton  and  the  machinery  went  to  a  San  Francisco  junk  dealer. 
This  venture  is  said  to  have  caused  financial  distress  to  many 
of  the  farmers  in  the  vicinity. 

In  1888,  Claus  Spreckels,  so  long  a  prominent  figure  in  the 
sugar  world,  established  a  beet  factory  at  Watsonville,  Santa 
Cruz  county,  in  the  rich  Pajaro  valley.  At  first  its  capacity  was 
300  tons  of  beets  per  day,  and,  the  result  of  the  operations  being 
favorable,  this  was  increased  from  time  to  time  until  it  reached 
1000  tons  of  beets  per  day.TThe  Watsonville  factory  developed 
into  the  largest  beet  plant  in  America  and  remained  so  until 
1898,  in  which  year  Mr.  Spreckels  erected  a  modern  3OOO-ton 
plant  at  Salinas,  fifteen  miles  distant.  Since  then  the  new  fac- 
tory has  sliced  all  of  the  beets  grown  in  that  territory  and  the 
old  one  has  been  dismantled.  The  capacity  of  the  Salinas  plant 
now  is  greater  than  that  of  any  other  beet  factory  in  the  United 
States,  being  4000  tons  per  day. 

The  Oxnard  brothers,  Henry  T.,  Benjamin,  James  G.  and 
Robert,  with  J.  G.  Hamilton,  W.  Bayard  Cutting  and  R.  Fulton 
Cutting,  organized  the  Oxnard  Beet  Sugar  company  in  1889, 
and  in  December  of  that  year  broke  ground  for  a  beet-sugar 
factory  of  350  tons  slicing  capacity  at  Grand  Island,  Nebraska. 
In  1891  they  built  two  more,  one  at  Norfolk,  Nebraska,  and  one 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES  155 

at  Chino,  California,  both  of  the  same  size  as  the  Grand  Island 
plant.  The  machinery  for  the  first  two  factories  was  bought  in 
France  and  that  for  the  last  one  came  from  Germany.  Toward 
the  end  of  1897,  construction  at  Oxnard  was  begun,  and  in  1899 
a  consolidation  of  all  these  factories  was  effected  under  the 
corporate  title  of  the  American  Beet  Sugar  company. 

At  the  close  of  1890,  sixty  years  after  the  first  experiment  at 
Philadelphia,  there  were  only  three  beet -sugar  factories  in 
operation  in  America;  those  at  Alvarado,  Watsonville  and 
Grand  Island.  The  total  capacity  of  the  three  plants  was  eight 
hundred  tons  of  beets  a  day,  or  ten  thousand  tons  of  sugar  a 
year.  France  in  the  same  period  increased  her  production  from 
5000  to  770,000  tons  a  year  through  favorable  legislation  pro- 
viding for  the  payment  of  bounties. 

In  the  United  States,  whenever  beet-sugar  enterprises  have 
been  started,  there  has  generally  been  some  legal  provision  for 
payment  by  the  state  of  bounty  on  the  quantity  of  sugar  pro- 
duced. The  story  of  how  this  responsibility  was  evaded  is 
hardly  a  pleasant  one.  In  Nebraska,  for  example,  three  different 
legislatures  enacted  laws  providing  for  bounty  on  beet  sugar, 
but  in  each  case  the  following  legislature  either  repealed  the  act 
or  failed  to  make  appropriations  for  the  necessary  funds.  In  the 
early  nineties,  Michigan  passed  a  bounty  law  which  resulted  in 
several  beet  factories  being  established  in  that  state,  but  when 
the  claims  for  bounty  were  presented  for  payment,  the  state 
auditor  refused  to  honor  them,  and  his  action  was  upheld  by 
the  state  supreme  court  on  the  ground  of  unconstitutionality. 
A  similar  condition  arose  in  Idaho.  Minnesota  paid  bounties  in 
1890  and  1899,  after  which  the  law  was  declared  unconstitu- 
tional. 

The  McKinley  bill  of  April,  1891,  was  the  first  national  legis- 
lation to  encourage  the  beet  industry.  It  called  for  a  bounty 
of  two  cents  on  each  pound  of  domestic  sugar  produced  test- 


156  HISTORICAL 

ing  over  90  degrees,  and  admitted  beet  seed  and  sugar  ma- 
chinery free  of  duty.  This  encouraged  the  Oxnards  to  build  the 
factories  at  Norfolk,  Nebraska,  and  Chino,  California,  of  which 
mention  has  already  been  made.  At  the  same  time  Thomas  R. 
Cutler  and  his  associates  put  up  a  beet  factory  at  Lehi,  Utah, 
which  state  offered  a  bounty  in  addition  to  that  granted  by  the 
Federal  government. 

The  tariff  act  of  August  28,  1894,  abolished  the  bounty  on 
sugar  and  fixed  an  ad  valorem  duty  of  40  per  cent.  As  a  result 
of  the  loss  of  the  bounty  and  the  financial  stress  that  reigned 
at  that  time,  no  beet  factories  were  started  except  that  at  Me- 
nominee  Falls,  Wisconsin,  which  was  a  flat  failure. 

The  following  resume  of  the  United  States  tariffs  on  sugar 
since  the  year  1846  may  be  found  useful  for  purposes  of  refer- 
ence: 
Tariff  act  July  30,  1846:  All  sugars  30  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Tariff  act  March  3,  1857,  to  be  effective  from  and  after  July  i, 
1857:  All  sugars  24  per  cent  ad  valorem. 

Tariff  act  March  2,  1861,  effective  April  i,  1861 :  %c  per  pound 
on  raw,  2c  per  pound  on  refined. 

Tariff  act  August  5,  1861 :  2c  per  pound  on  raw.  Sugars  above 
12  D.  S.  and  not  yet  refined,  2j4c  per  pound.  4c  per  pound  on 
refined. 

Tariff  act  July  14,  1862,  effective  August  i,  1862:  Sugars  not 
above  12  D.  S.,  2j^c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  12  D.  S.,  not 
above  15  D.  S.,  3c  per  pound.  Above  15  D.  S.,  not  above  20 
D.  S.,  and  not  stove  dried,  3j^c  per  pound.  Refined  and  above 
20  D.  S.,  4c. 

Joint  resolution  of  April  29,  1864,  in  effect  for  sixty  days: 
Sugars  not  above  12  D.  S.,  2j^c  per  pound  plus  50  per  cent 
equals  ^Hc  per  pound.  Sugars  above  12  D.  S.  and  not  above 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


15  D.  S.,  30  plus  50  per  cent  equals  4j^c  per  pound.  Sugars 
above  15  D.  S.  and  not  above  20  D.  S.,  3j4c  per  pound  plus  50 
per  cent  equals  5/4c  per  pound.  All  refined  sugars  4c  per 
pound  plus  50  per  cent  equals  6c  per  pound. 

Tariff  act  June  30,  1864,  effective  July  i,  1864:  Sugars  not 
above  12  D.  S.,  3c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  12  D.  S.,  not  above 
15  D.  S.,  3j4c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  15  D.  S.,  not  above  20 
D.  S.,  and  not  stove  dried,  4c  per  pound.  All  refined  sugars 
and  all  sugars  over  20  D.  S.,  5c  per  pound. 

Tariff  act  July  14,  1870,  to  be  effective  on  and  after  December 
31,  1870,  which  means  January  i,  1871.  Later  amended  by 
tariff  act  of  December  22,  1870,  to  be  effective  immediately: 
Sugars  not  above  7  D.  S.,  i%c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  7  D. 
S.,  not  above  10  D.  S.,  2c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  10  D.  S., 
not  above  13  D.  S.,  2j^c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  13  D.  S.,  not 
above  16  D.  S.,  2%c  per  pound.  Sugars  above  16  D.  S.  and  not 
above  20  D.  S.,  3%c  per  pound.  All  sugars  above  20  D.  S.  and 
all  refined,  4c  per  pound. 


Tariff  act  March  3,  1875:  Sugars  not  above  7  D.  S.,  i%c  per 
pound  plus  25  per  cent  equals  2.i9c  per  pound.  Sugars  above 
7  D.  S.,  not  above  10  D.  S.,  2c  per  pound  plus  25  per  cent 
equals  2.5oc.  Sugars  above  10  D.  S.,  not  above  13  D.  S.,  2%c 
plus  25  per  cent  equals  2.8ic  per  pound.  Sugars  above  13  D. 
S.,  not  above  16  D.  S.,  2%c  plus  25  per  cent  equals  344C  per 
pound.  Sugars  above  16  D.  S.,  not  above  20  D.  S.,  3j4c  plus 
25  per  cent  equals  4.o6c  per  pound.  All  sugars  above  20  D.  S. 
and  all  refined  sugars,  4c  per  pound  plus  25  per  cent  equals  5c 
per  pound. 

Tariff  act  March  3,  1883,  effective  June  i,  1883:  Sugars  not 
above  13  D.  S.  and  not  above  75-degree  polarization,  I.4OC  per 
pound  and  .O4c  additional  per  degree  or  fraction  thereof. 


158  HISTORICAL 

Sugars  above  13  D.  S.,  not  above  16  D.  S.,  2.750  per  pound. 
Sugars  above  16  D.  S.,  not  above  20  D.  S.,  30  per  pound. 
Sugars  above  20  D.  S.,  3^20  per  pound. 

Tariff  act  October  I,  1890,  effective  April  I,  1891  (McKinley 
bill) :  Bounties  effective  July  i,  1891.  Bounties  declared  un- 
constitutional by  the  United  States  supreme  court:  Bounty 
on  domestic  productions,  sugars  testing  80  degrees  to  90  de- 
grees, i%c  per  pound.  Bounty  on  domestic  productions, 
sugars  testing  at  least  90  degrees,  2c  per  pound.  All  sugar  not 
above  16  D.  S.,  free.  All  sugar  above  16  D.  S.,  duty  ^c  per 
pound.  All  sugar  above  16  D.  S.  from  bounty-paying  coun- 
tries, duty  6/ioc  per  pound. 

Tariff  act  August  27,  1894,  effective  August  28,  1894  (Wil- 
son bill):  Bounty  on  domestic  production  repealed.  All 
sugars  40  per  cent  ad  valorem.  All  sugars  above  16  D.  S. 
and  all  sugars  discolored,  40  per  cent  and  J^c  per  pound. 
All  sugars  from  bounty-paying  countries,  i/ioc  per  pound 
additional. 

Tariff  act  July  24,  1897  (Dingley  bill) :  Raws  not  above  16  D. 
S.  and  not  above  75-degree  polarization,  .950  per  pound.  Each 
additional  degree  or  fraction  thereof,  .0350  per  pound  addi- 
tional. Sugar  above  16  D.  S.  and  all  refined,  1.950.  All  sugars 
from  bounty-paying  countries,  countervailing  duties  equal  to 
bounties  additional. 

Tariff  act  August  5,  1909  ( Payne- Aldrich  bill):  Raws  not 
above  16  D.  S.  and  not  above  75-degree  polarization,  .950  per 
pound.  Each  additional  degree  or  fraction  thereof,  .0350  per 
pound  additional.  Sugar  above  16  D.  S.,  and  all  refined,  1.900 
per  pound.  All  sugars  from  bounty-paying  countries  counter- 
vailing duties  equal  to  bounties  additional. 

Tariff  act  October  3,  1913,  effective  March  i,  1914  (Under- 


BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 

wood  bill) :  Raws  testing  not  above  75-degree  polarization, 
.710  per  pound.  Each  additional  degree  or  fraction  thereof, 
.026c  per  pound  additional.  No.  16  D.  S.  clause  repealed.  All 
Philippine  sugars  to  be  admitted  free.  After  May  I,  1916,  all 
sugars  to  be  admitted  free  of  duty. 

In  April,  1916,  a  bill  was  passed  by  Congress  repealing  the 
free-sugar  clause  of  the  tariff  act  of  October  3,  1913.  The  Pres- 
ident signed  the  bill  on  April  27,  1916. 

The  Democratic  party  was  defeated  in  1896  and  the  following 
year  saw  the  passage  of  the  Dingley  bill,  which  levied  a  duty  of 
1.685  on  96-degree  raw  centrifugals  under  16  D.  S.  in  color  and 
1.95  on  raws  over  16  D.  S.  and  on  refined  sugars.  Under  the 
beneficial  influence  of  this  law  the  industry  revived  and  within 
a  period  of  about  two  years  from  the  enactment  of  the  bill 
twenty-four  beet  factories  sprang  into  being.  One-half  of  the 
number  were  unsuccessful1  because  the  stimulating  provisions 
of  the  new  tariff  caused  ventures  to  be  made  hastily  and  with- 
out regard  to  actual  conditions.  Of  the  twelve  factories  that 
survived,  nearly  all  were  situated  in  California  and  Michigan. 
From  1900  to  1902  the  building  of  beet  plants  was  not  so 
rapid,  for  the  reason  that  the  failures  just  mentioned  and  the 
popular  demand  for  preferential  terms  for  Philippine  and 
Cuban  sugars  were  not  exactly  encouraging.  A  25  per  cent 
preferential  was  given  to  Philippine  sugars  March  8,  1902,  and 
a  concession  of  20  per  cent  of  the  duty  was  allowed  Cuba  De- 
cember 27,  1903;  still,  notwithstanding  the  failures  and  the 
political  agitation,  five  or  six  beet  factories  were  erected  each 
year  during  this  period.  The  number  of  beet  factories  operating 
in  the  United  States  in  1915  was  sixty-seven  and  the  total  daily 
slicing  capacity  was  73,320  tons.  The  acreage  harvested  was 
611,301  acres,  ninety-three  per  cent  of  which  was  worked  by  in- 
dependent farmers  and  seven  per  cent  by  the  factories.  The 

1  Secretary  of  Agriculture,  6ist  Congress,  1st  Session,  Sen.  Doc.  22,  p.  8. 


i6o 


HISTORICAL 


total  amount  of  beets  sliced  during  that  season  was  6,150,293 
short  tons,  which  produced  874,220  short  tons  of  sugar. 
The  following  is  a  list  of  the  factories  themselves : 


ARIZONA 


Southwestern  Sugar  &  Land  Co.1  Glendale 


Alameda  Sugar  Co. 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 
Anaheim  Sugar  Co. 
Holly  Sugar  Co. 
Los  Alamitos  Sugar  Co. 
x  Santa  Ana  Co-op.  Sugar  Co. 
Southern  California  Sugar  Co. 
Spreckels  Sugar  Co. 
Union  Sugar  Co. 
Sacramento  Valley  Sugar  Co.1 
San  Joaquin  Valley  Sugar  Co 
Pacific  Sugar  Co.1 

American  Beet  Sugar  Co.1 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Great  Western  Sugar  Co. 
Holly  Sugar  Co. 
National  Sugar  Mfg.  Co. 
Western  Sugar  &  Land  Co. 
'  Closed. 


CALIFORNIA 
Alvarado 
Chino 
Oxnard 
Anaheim 

Huntington  Beach 
Los  Alamitos 
Dyer 

Santa  Ana 
Spreckels 
Betteravia 
Hamilton  City 
Visalia 
Corcoran 

COLORADO 
Lamar 
Las  Animas 
Rocky  Ford 
Brush 
Eaton 

Fort  Collins 
Fort  Morgan 
Greeley 
Longmont 
Loveland 
Sterling 
Windsor 
Swink 
Sugar  City 
Grand  Junction 


DATE 
BUILT 

SLICING 
CAPACITY 

1003 

600  tons 

1870 

750 

tt 

1891 

900 

ft 

1898 

3000 

tt 

I9II 

800 

tt 

I9II 

1200 

f( 

1897 

800 

tt 

1912 
1009 

IOOO 

600 

"7 

tt 

1899 

4000 

tt 

1898 

900 

tt 

1906 

700 

tt 

IOX)6 

450 

tt 

1908 

600 

ft 

1905 

400 

tt 

1907 

800 

tf 

1900 

1600 

ft 

IOX)6 

IIOO 

tt 

1902 

IOOO 

tt 

1903 

2000 

tt 

I9O6 

1150 

tl 

1902 

IOOO 

tt 

1903 

2000 

ft 

lOX)! 

1800 

tt 

1905 

IOOO 

ft 

1003 

IIOO 

ft 

1906 

I2OO 

tt 

1900 

500 

tf 

I809 

600 

ft 

BEET  SUGAR  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES 


161 


Amalgamated  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 

Charles  Pope 

Holland  St.  Louis  Sugar  Co. 

Iowa  Sugar  Co.1 

Garden  City  Sugar  &  Land  Co, 

Continental  Sugar  Co. 
German  American  Sugar  Co. 
Holland  St.  Louis  Sugar  Co. 
Holland  St.  Louis  Sugar  Co. 
Menominee  River  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Michigan  Sugar  Co. 
Owosso  Sugar  Co. 
Owosso  Sugar  Co. 
Mt.  Clemens  Sugar  Co. 
Western  Sugar  Refining  Co.1 
West  Bay  City  Sugar  Co. 

Minnesota  Sugar  Co. 

Billings  Sugar  Co. 
i  Closed. 


IDAHO 

DATE 
BUILT 

SLICING 
CAPACITY 

Burley 

1912 

725  tons 

Blackfoot 

1904 

860     " 

Idaho  Falls 

1903 

950  '« 

Sugar 

IOX>4 

900  " 

ILLINOIS 

Riverdale 

1905 

450  " 

INDIANA 

Decatur 

1912 

800  " 

IOWA 

Waverly 

I907 

500  " 

KANSAS 

Garden  City 

1906 

900  " 

MICHIGAN 

Blissfield 

1905 

900  " 

Bay  City 

1901 

1500  " 

Holland 

1899 

400  " 

St.  Louis 

1903 

600  " 

Menominee 

1903 

1150  " 

Alma 

1899 

1400  " 

Bay  City 

1899 

1400  " 

Caro 

1899 

1200    " 

Crosswell 

1902 

700  " 

Carrollton 

1902 

900  " 

Sebewaing 

1902 

850  " 

Lansing 

I9OI 

600  " 

Owosso 

IOXD3 

1200    " 

Mt.  Clemens 

1902 

600  " 

Marine  City 

1900 

600  " 

West  Bay  City 

1899 

900  " 

MINNESOTA 

Chaska 

1906 

700  " 

MONTANA 

Billings 

1906 

2000    " 

1 62 


HISTORICAL 


Scottsbluff  Sugar  Co. 
American  Beet  Sugar  Co. 

Nevada  Sugar  Co.1 

Continental  Sugar  Co. 
Continental  Sugar  Co. 
German  American  Sugar  Co. 
Ottowa  Sugar  Co. 
Toledo  Sugar  Co.1 

Amalgamated  Sugar  Co. 
Amalgamated  Sugar  Co. 
Amalgamated  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Utah  Idaho  Sugar  Co. 
Layton  Sugar  Co. 

Chippewa  Sugar  Refining  Co. 
Rock  County  Sugar  Co.1 
U.  S.  Sugar  Co. 
Wisconsin  Sugar  Co. 

Sheridan  Sugar  Co. 


Total  capacity  (76)  U.  S.  factories 
Closed. 


DATE 

SLICING 

NEBRASKA 

BUILT 

CAPACITY 

Scottsbluff 

IQIO 

1850  tons 

Grand  Island 

1890 

400     " 

NEVADA 

Fallen 

I9II 

600     " 

OHIO 

Fremont 

1900 

500     " 

Findlay 

I9II 

800     " 

Paulding 

1910 

900     " 

.     Ottowa 

1912 

600     " 

Toledo 

1912 

1  100    " 

UTAH 

Lewiston 

1905 

900  " 

Logan 

I9OI 

750  " 

Ogden 

1898 

750  " 

Elsinore 

I9II 

620  " 

Garland 

1903 

950  " 

Lehi 

1891 

1165  " 

Payson 

1913 

700  " 

Layton 

1915 

450  " 

WISCONSIN 

Chippewa  Falls 

1904 

500  " 

Janesville 

1904 

600  " 

Madison 

1906 

600  " 

Menominee  Falls 

1901 

600  " 

WYOMING 

Sheridan 

IQI5 

750   " 

73,320  tons 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII 

THE  Hawaiian  islands  lie  in  the  north  Pacific  ocean,  be- 
tween 18  degrees  54  minutes  and  22  degrees  15  minutes 
north  latitude  and  154  degrees  50  minutes  and  160  de- 
grees 30  minutes  west  longitude.  The  group  consists  of  eight 
inhabited  islands  and  a  number  of  small  barren  islets  extending 
several  hundred  miles  in  a  west-northwesterly  direction. 

The  area  of  the  various  inhabited  islands  in  square  miles  is  as 
follows : 

Hawaii  4210 

Maui  728 

Oahu  600 

Kauai  547 

Molokai  261 

Lanai  139 

Niihau  97 

Kahoolawe  69 

Total  6651 

All  of  them  are  of  volcanic  and  comparatively  recent  origin, 
and  their  age,  or  at  least  the  time  since  the  last  eruptions  on 
them,  decreases  from  west  to  east.  On  Hawaii,  the  largest  and 
most  easterly  of  the  group,  the  volcanic  forces  are  still  active 
and  its  surface  is  covered  with  lava  thrown  up  at  no  very  re- 
mote period.  The  principal  port  is  Hilo  and  the  highest  moun- 
tain peaks  are  Mauna  Kea  (White  mountain),  13,823  feet,  and 
Mauna  Loa  (Great  mountain),  13,675  feet. 

Maui  is  formed  by  two  mountains  connected  by  an  isthmus. 
Mauna  Haleakala,  the  higher  of  the  two,  rises  to  a  height 


164  HISTORICAL 

of  10,032  feet.1  Kahului  is  the  most  important  town  and 
seaport. 

Oahu  is  of  irregular  quadrangular  shape.  Two  nearly  parallel 
mountain  ranges  traverse  it  from  southeast  to  northwest  and 
between  them  is  a  plateau  that  slopes  down  to  the  sea  both  in 
a  northerly  and  southerly  direction.  The  principal  port  is  Hono- 
lulu, the  "cross-roads  of  the  Pacific/'  a  flourishing  city  of  about 
60,000  inhabitants  and  the  capital  of  the  group.  It  is  admirably 
situated  on  a  fine  harbor  and,  in  addition  to  its  commercial  im- 
portance, is  one  of  the  most  attractive  spots  in  the  world  on 
account  of  its  balmy  climate  and  wondrously  beautiful  sur- 
roundings. It  is  strongly  fortified  and  a  considerable  military 
force  is  maintained  there. 

Pearl  Harbor  lies  about  seven  miles  from  Honolulu  in  a  west- 
erly direction.  Here  the  United  States  government  has  estab- 
lished a  great  naval  station,  one  of  the  finest  in  existence.  It  has 
the  most  improved  apparatus  for  supplying  coal  or  fuel  oil  to 
vessels;  there  are  machine  shops,  storehouses  and  barracks; 
and  the  huge  dry-dock  when  completed  will  accommodate  the 
largest  dreadnaughts.  The  entrance  from  the  sea  has  been 
dredged  to  make  it  navigable  for  ships  of  the  greatest  draft  and 
the  station  is  protected  by  powerful  long-range  guns  of  the 
most  modern  type. 

Kauai,  the  oldest  island  of  the  group,  is  irregularly  circular 
in  shape,  with  a  maximum  diameter  of  about  25  miles.  On  the 
northwest  a  precipice  rises  to  a  height  of  2000  feet  and  beyond 
that  is  a  mountain  plain,  but  the  other  portion  of  the  island 
consists  of  shore  plains  with  the  mountain  peak,  Waialeale, 
5250  feet  high,  in  their  midst.  The  shore  plains  are  broken  by 
ridges  and  broad,  deep  valleys  and  the  island  is  well  watered 
on  all  sides  by  mountain  streams.  There  are  a  number  of  ports, 
but  no  large  towns. 

»  Height  of  these  mountains  taken  from  U.  S.  Geodetic  Survey,  March,  1915. 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII  165 

The  climate  of  the  Hawaiian  islands  near  sea-level  does  not 
vary  greatly  from  one  year's  end  to  the  other.  It  is  cooler  than 
other  regions  in  the  same  latitude  and  extremely  healthful.  The 
northeast  trade  winds  blow  with  periodic  variations  from 
March  to  December,  or,  as  one  writer  says,  264  days  out  of  365 
every  year.1  The  leeward  coast,  protected  by  high  mountains, 
is  refreshed  by  regular  land  and  sea  breezes.  The  heaviest  rain- 
fall is  from  January  to  May,  and  naturally  the  greatest  precipi- 
tation takes  place  on  the  windward  side  of  the  principal  islands. 
The  extremes  of  local  rainfall  in  the  larger  islands  have  been 
known  to  range  from  12  inches  to  300  inches  for  the  year.  In 
Honolulu  the  average  temperature  runs  from  72  degrees  to  74 
degrees,  the  maximum  about  88  degrees  and  the  minimum  52 
degrees  Fahrenheit.  In  ascending  the  mountains  a  lower  tem- 
perature will  be  encountered  as  a  matter  of  course  and  some  of 
the  highest  mountain  peaks  are  covered  with  snow  nearly  all 
the  year  round.  Winds  seldom  blow  with  extreme  violence  and 
hurricanes  are  unknown. 

Singular  it  is  that  so  little  should  have  been  written  upon  a 
subject  so  important  as  the  history  of  the  growth  of  the  sugar 
industry  of  the  Hawaiian  islands.  Jarves  and  Thrum  bring  the 
narrative  down  to  1875  and  Mr.  H.  P.  Baldwin,  in  his  book  en- 
titled "The  Sugar  Industry  in  Hawaii"  (1895),  contributes  a 
fund  of  valuable  information  which  is  freely  drawn  upon  in  this 
chapter. 

Tradition  has  it  that  a  Japanese  junk  touched  at  the  island 
of  Maui  during  the  thirteenth  century  and  a  Spanish  vessel  is 
said  to  have  put  in  on  the  south  coast  of  Hawaii  during  a  voy- 
age from  Mexico  to  the  Philippines  in  1550.  Be  this  as  it  may, 
our  knowledge  of  these  islands  dates  only  from  the  time  of  their 
discovery  by  Captain  Cook  in  1778.  He  found  sugar  cane  grow- 
ing there  when  he  landed  and  speaks  of  it  in  his  description  of 

1  Geerligs,  World's  Cane  Sugar  Industry,  p.  345. 


166  HISTORICAL 

his  first  visit  as  being  "of  large  size  and  good  quality."  Accord- 
ing to  the  old  natives,  it  grew  wild  and  luxuriant  in  the  valleys 
and  lowlands.  As  far  back  as  1837  Mr.  D.  D.  Baldwin  recalls 
having  seen  fields  of  white  cane  on  the  edge  of  the  woods  at 
Hana,  Maui,  at  an  elevation  of  2000  to  3000  feet.  The  natives 
made  no  attempt  to  use  sugar  cane  except  as  an  article  of  food, 
although  it  is  said  that  in  ancient  days  it  served  as  an  offering 
to  their  gods,  particularly  the  god  "Mano"  (shark). 

Cleveland1  says  that  upon  his  first  visit  to  the  Sandwich 
group  in  1799  the  natives  came  alongside  the  ship  in  canoes 
bringing  many  fruits  and  vegetables,  among  which  was  sugar 
cane. 

L.  L.  Torbert,  one  of  the  early  planters,  in  a  paper  read  be- 
fore the  Royal  Agricultural  Society  in  January,  1852,  claims 
that  the  earliest  sugar  factory  was  put  up  on  the  island  of  Lanai 
in  1802  by  a  Chinaman  who  came  to  the  islands  in  one  of  the 
vessels  trading  for  sandalwood.  He  brought  with  him  a  stone 
mill  and  boilers,  and  after  grinding  one  small  crop  and  making 
it  into  sugar,  went  away  the  next  year  taking  his  apparatus 
with  him. 

Anderson2  makes  a  statement  that  257  tons  of  sugar  were  ex- 
ported from  the  islands  in  1814,  but  cites  no  authority  upon 
which  to  base  his  assertion. 

According  to  Jarves3  the  first  instance  of  the  manufacture  of 
sugar  goes  back  beyond  1820,  but  the  name  of  the  pioneer 
planter  is  unknown.  It  is  certain  that  at  first  molasses  was 
manufactured  and  then  sugar  some  time  before  1820. 

Don  Francisco  de  Paula  Marin  made  sugar  in  Honolulu  in 
1819,  the  year  before  the  arrival  of  the  first  missionaries.  La- 
vinia,  an  Italian,  did  the  same  thing  in  1823.  His  method  was  to 

i  Cleveland,  Richard  J.,  Narrative  of  Voyages  and  Commercial  Enterprises,  Cambridge, 
1843.  2  Anderson,  Rufus,  The  Hawaiian  Islands,  Boston,  1864.  3  Jarves,  James 
Jackson,  History  of  the  Sandwich  Islands,  Honolulu,  1872. 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII  167 

pound  the  cane  with  stone  pestles  on  huge  wooden  trays  (poi 
boards)  by  native  labor,  collecting  the  juice  and  boiling  it  in  a 
small  copper  kettle. 

Accounts  from  various  sources  agree  that  the  making  of 
sugar  and  molasses  was  general  in  1823-24.  This  undoubtedly 
had  direct  connection  with  the  manufacture  of  rum,  which  was 
extensively  carried  on  at  that  time. 

In  1828  a  considerable  amount  of  cane  was  raised  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Honolulu  and  mills  were  built  in  the  Nuuanu 
valley  and  Waikapu,  Maui.  A  pioneer  cane  grower,  Antonio 
Silva  by  name,  lived  at  the  latter  place,  and  some  Chinamen 
had  a  sugar  mill  near  Hilo.  In  those  days  mills  were  made  of 
wood,  very  crudely  put  together  and  worked  by  oxen. 

The  first  attempt  at  sugar  cultivation  on  a  large  scale  was 
made  at  Koloa,  Kauai,  by  Ladd  &  company,  a  Honolulu  mer- 
chant firm,  in  1835.  This  was  the  beginning  of  what  is  now 
known  as  the  Koloa  plantation,  and  the  first  breaking  of  the 
soil  for  planting  cane  was  done  with  a  plough  drawn  by  natives. 
A  mill  was  established  here  at  the  same  time,  and  the  enter- 
prise was  managed  by  a  Mr.  Hooper. 

As  has  been  said,  the  general  character  of  the  mills  was  rude 
and  primitive  and  it  continued  to  be  so  up  to  1850.  The 
rollers  were  generally  of  wood  and  the  kettles  in  which  the  juice 
was  boiled  were  whalers'  trypots.  The  buildings  were  adobe  or 
simple  grass  huts.  Only  one  grade  of  sugar  was  made.  The  juice 
was  boiled  to  a  thick  syrup  and  put  into  coolers  to  grain,  after 
which  the  granulated  mass  was  packed  in  mats,  bags,  boxes  or 
barrels  with  perforated  bottoms  for  the  molasses  to  drain  off. 
The  mills  were  run  by  bullocks,  horses  and  in  some  cases  by 
water  power,  and  were  fed  by  hand,  one  stalk  at  a  time.  The 
whole  process,  both  in  the  field  and  in  the  mill,  was  very  crude 
and  imperfect. 

The  value  of  the  sugar  exported  from  the  islands  from  1836 


168  HISTORICAL 

to  1841  was  $36,000  and  that  of  the  molasses  for  the  same 
period  $17,130. 

An  article  by  the  late  William  Ladd  on  the  "Resources  of  the 
Sandwich  Islands,"  published  in  the  "Hawaiian  Spectator"  for 
April,  1838,  speaks  thus  prophetically  of  the  manufacture  of 
sugar,  then  in  its  infancy: 

"It  is  a  very  common  opinion  that  sugar  will  become  a  lead- 
ing article  of  export.  That  this  will  become  a  sugar  country  is 
quite  evident,  if  we  may  judge  from  the  varieties  of  sugar  cane 
now  existing  here,  its  adaptation  to  the  soil,  price  of  labor  and  a 
ready  market.  From  experiments  hitherto  made,  it  is  believed 
that  sugar  of  a  superior  quality  may  be  produced  here.  It  may 
not  be  amiss  to  state  that  there  are  now  in  operation,  or  soon 
to  be  erected,  twenty  mills  for  crushing  cane  propelled  by  ani- 
mal power,  and  two  by  water  power." 

Just  here  it  may  be  remarked  that  at  that  time  the  price  of 
labor  was  a  potent  argument  in  favor  of  making  the  islands  a 
sugar-producing  country,  for  native  labor  was  available  in 
abundance  and  the  current  rate  of  wages  was  from  12%  cents 
to  37%  cents  per  day,  or  $2.00  to  $5.00  per  month. 

In  an  article  on  commercial  development,1  Thrum  says : 

"Hawaiian  produce  in  the  early  days  had  to  seek  distant 
markets,  for  we  find  shipments  of  sugar,  hides,  goat  skins  and 
the  first  shipment  of  raw  silk  moving  to  New  York  per  the  bark 
Flora  in  1840.  A  trial  shipment  of  sugar  was  sent  to  France, 
but  it  did  not  offer  sufficient  encouragement  for  any  renewals. 
The  Sydney  market  was  also  exploited  with  sugar,  where  it  ob- 
tained better  figures  than  similar  grades  of  Mauritius." 

Between  the  years  1840  and  1850  a  cane  field  and  rude  mill  in 
Lahaina,  Maui,  were  owned  by  David  Malo,  a  well-known  Ha- 
waiian, who  made  molasses  and  sold  it  for  home  consumption. 
His  apparatus  consisted  of  three  whaling-ship  trypots  set  up 

1  Overland  Monthly,  June,  1895,  p.  620. 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII  169 

on  adobe  and  stone  mason  work.  The  crushing  was  done  with 
wooden  rollers,  strengthened  by  iron  bands. 

In  1841,  Kaukini,  governor  of  Hawaii,  planted  about  one  hun- 
dred acres  of  cane  in  Kohala  and  the  crop  when  harvested  was 
ground  under  contract  by  a  Chinese  named  Aiko. 

In  Wyllie's  "Notes"  on  the  islands,  published  in  the  "Friend," 
December,  1844,  the  quantity  of  sugar  exported  from  the  island 
of  Kauai  is  estimated  at  about  200  tons,  and  the  molasses  at 
20,000  gallons.  Hilo,  in  the  same  year,  exported  42  tons  of 
sugar.  Maui  had,  at  that  time,  two  mills,  but  the  amount  of 
sugar  produced  is  not  reported. 

In  1851,  D.  M.  Weston,  then  manager  of  what  is  now  the 
Honolulu  Iron  Works,  invented  the  first  centrifugal  machine 
for  drying  sugar,  and  this  machine  was  installed  on  the  East 
Maui  plantation  in  the  same  year.  This,  it  is  claimed,  was  the 
first  centrifugal  to  be  used  for  the  purpose  anywhere. 

Prominent  among  the  early  planters  are  the  names  of 
Stephen  Reynolds,  William  French,  Ladd  &  company,  Dr.  R. 
W.  Wood,  L.  L.  Torbert,  W.  H.  Rice,  and  later  on  S.  L.  Austin, 
A.  H.  Spencer  and  Captain  Makee. 

In  the  year  1854  or  1855,  Captain  Edwards  of  the  American 
whaler  George  Washington  brought  from  Tahiti  two  varie- 
ties of  cane,  one  known  as  Cuban  and  the  other  as  Lahaina.  The 
latter  proved  to  be  profitable  to  raise  and  fifteen  or  sixteen 
years  later  began  to  displace  other  species  throughout  the 
islands.  Since  then  its  popularity  continued  to  increase  and  up 
to  twenty  years  ago  it  was  the  variety  most  in  favor  on  all  Ha- 
waiian plantations. 

Twelve  varieties  of  cane  were  imported  from  Queensland, 
Australia,  in  1880,  but  of  these  only  one — the  Rose  Bamboo — 
compared  with  the  Lahaina  in  productiveness,  and  that  only  in 
high  altitudes. 

In  1898  Lahaina  and  Rose  Bamboo  seemed  to  have  outlived 


170  HISTORICAL 

their  usefulness  on  the  Hamakua  coast  of  the  island  of  Hawaii, 
and  while  they  continued  to  give  excellent  results  in  the  low, 
sheltered  valleys,  it  became  evident  that  they  could  not  be 
profitably  grown  on  the  uplands.  The  yields  in  the  Hamakua 
region  were  becoming  smaller  each  year  and  the  plantation 
owners  had  to  seek  a  new  variety.  A  cane  known  as  Yellow 
Caledonia1  solved  the  difficulty  and  wonderful  crops  of  it  have 
been  raised  uninterruptedly  in  that  section  ever  since. 

In  1856  no  fertilizers  were  used  and  practically  nothing  was 
known  of  irrigation.  The  average  yield  of  sugar  at  that  time 
was  one  ton  per  acre.  The  extraction  of  sugar  from  the  cane 
was  less  than  50  per  cent,  while  today  in  the  best  mills  it  ex- 
ceeds 98  per  cent  and  the  average  result  from  all  Hawaiian  fac- 
tories shows  over  90  per  cent. 

The  industry  struggled  along  under  severe  handicaps  and 
discouraging  circumstances  until  1857,  when  the  number  of 
plantations  on  the  islands  had  dwindled  down  to  five:  Koloa 
and  Lihue  on  Kauai,  the  East  Maui  and  the  Brewer  on  Maui 
and  a  Chinese  outfit  near  Hilo,  Hawaii. 

In  1858-59  steam  was  adopted  as  the  motive  power  in  the 

1  From  what  Mr.  Noel  Deerr,  the  sugar  technologist  at  the  Honolulu  experiment  sta- 
tion, writes  on  the  subject,  it  would  appear  that  Yellow  Caledonia  cane  is  identical  with 
White  Tanna.  The  three  varieties  of  Tanna  cane,  the  Striped,  the  White  and  the  Black, 
are  called  after  the  island  of  that  name,  one  of  the  Loyalty  group,  of  which  the  most 
important  is  New  Caledonia.  All  of  the  Tanna  canes  are  cultivated  extensively  in 
Australia,  and  the  White  Tanna  or  Yellow  Caledonia  was  brought  to  Hawaii  from 
Queensland. 

Mr.  W.  P.  Naquin,  agriculturist  of  the  H.  S.  P.  A.  experiment  station,  Honolulu, 
says :  "Yellow  Caledonia  cane  was  first  grown  in  the  Kau  district  by  manager  George  C. 
Hewitt  of  the  Hutchinson  Sugar  company.  The  cane  first  came  into  prominence  in  the 
early  nineties  when  Rose  Bamboo,  which  had  replaced  Lahaina  cane,  began  to  show 
signs  of  deterioration.  Yellow  Caledonia,  being  a  hardier  cane  than  any  of  the  varieties 
then  grown,  and  therefore  less  susceptible  to  attack  of  leaf-hoppers  and  to  prevalent 
diseases,  soon  gained  favor  in  Kau,  from  which  district  it  spread  to  Olaa  and  the 
Honokaa  district.  The  introduction  of  Yellow  Caledonia  cane  was,  no  doubt,  a  great 
help,  if  not  the  salvation  of  the  Onomea  Sugar  company  and  the  rest  of  the  plantations 
in  the  island  of  Hawaii,  which  suffered  so  severely  from  leaf-hoppers  and  the  deteriora- 
tion of  the  Lahaina  cane." 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII  171 

mills;  wooden  mills  were  superseded  by  those  built  of  iron  and 
in  1861  the  first  vacuum  pans  were  introduced.  The  same  year 
saw  the  number  of  plantations  increase  to  twenty-two,  nine  of 
which  employed  steam  for  the  grinding  of  the  cane. 

The  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war  in  the  United  States  cut  off 
the  supply  of  sugar  drawn  from  the  Southern  states  and  caused 
the  price  of  Hawaiian  sugar  in  kegs  to  advance  to  ten  cents  a 
pound.  This  gave  the  Hawaiian  producers  their  first  real  start. 
In  1863  the  export  tonnage  was  2600,  and  this  increased  until 
in  1866  it  reached  8869  tons. 

A  small  plantation  was  started  at  Paia,  Maui,  by  a  Captain 
Bush  in  1868  and  in  the  following  year  he  disposed  of  it  to  S.  T. 
Alexander  and  H.  P.  Baldwin.  The  former  gentleman  was  then 
manager  of  the  Haiku  plantation  and  the  acquisition  of  his  in- 
terest in  the  Paia  venture  necessitated  his  going  to  Honolulu 
to  borrow  the  sum  of  $9000,  which  he  managed  to  do,  but  not 
without  difficulty.  Mr.  Alexander  was  the  father  of  irrigation 
in  Hawaii.  He  promoted  and  built  the  Haiku  ditch,  which  was 
the  forerunner  of  the  present  magnificent  water-distributing 
system  of  the  islands. 

The  period  from  1869  to  1876  was  one  of  arduous  struggle 
for  the  planters.  Their  very  existence  was  at  stake.  The  duty 
levied  on  imports  by  the  United  States  cut  their  margins  down 
to  nothing,  labor  was  scarce  and  the  cost  of  obtaining  it  great, 
the  rate  of  interest  was  from  ten  to  twelve  per  cent,  agents' 
commissions  for  buying  and  selling  ran  from  five  to  ten  per 
cent;  in  short,  many  plantations  were  threatened  with  utter 
ruin,  and  so  seriously  discouraged  did  the  business  men  become 
that  the  only  gleam  of  hope  for  the  salvation  of  the  sugar  in- 
dustry seemed  to  be  annexation. 

Repeated  efforts  were  made  to  negotiate  a  reciprocity  treaty 
with  the  United  States.  Finally  this  was  accomplished;  the 
treaty  was  consummated  in  1876  and  a  new  Hawaii  was  born. 


172  HISTORICAL 

The  expansion  that  followed  was  more  rapid  than  the  finan- 
ces of  the  country  could  stand.  Depression  ensued,  and  as  a 
result  the  resources  of  the  islands  were  taxed  to  the  utmost. 

The  demand  for  labor  during  this  period  of  expansion  was  so 
great  that  the  pay  of  the  laborers  in  the  fields  was  raised  to  one 
dollar  a  day,  with  free  rent,  fuel  and  medical  attendance.  Labor- 
ers were  sought  for  in  the  far  corners  of  the  earth,  and  in  conse- 
quence the  islands  have  a  race  mixture  rarely  found  anywhere 
else  in  the  world. 

In  1876  the  annual  crop  of  the  islands  could  have  been  put  in 
one  vessel  of  the  capacity  of  those  that  are  now  engaged  in 
freighting  Hawaiian  raw  sugars  to  the  United  States,  the  total 
being  in  the  neighborhood  of  13,000  short  tons.  At  that  time, 
however,  this  seemed  an  enormous  amount  to  the  planters  with 
their  small  acreage  and  mills.  It  is  well  known  that  one  planter 
was  very  much  exercised  as  to  how  he  was  possibly  going  to 
handle  the  extraordinary  production  of  noo  tons  from  his 
plantation,  which  was  then  the  largest  in  the  islands. 

The  crop  came  on  the  market  in  such  small  quantities  that  it 
was  of  no  value  to  refiners,  as  they  could  not  depend  upon  def- 
inite deliveries.  It  was  therefore  put  up  in  special  containers, 
known  as  "island  kegs,"  and  sold  directly  to  the  wholesale 
grocers  on  the  Pacific  coast. 

Some  plantations  turned  out  sugars  that  found  especial 
favor  with  the  trade,  and  these  grades  brought  as  high  as  14 
cents  per  pound. 

Under  the  benefits  of  reciprocity  the  crop  increased  by  leaps 
and  bounds  and  in  a  short  time  the  planters  ceased  selling  these 
raw  grocery  sugars  and  turned  their  attention  to  supplying  the 
wants  of  refiners.  The  "island  keg"  became  a  thing  of  the  past 
and  the  small  sailing  vessels  which  had  heretofore  carried  all 
the  island  products  to  the  mainland  gave  way  to  steamers.  At 
the  present  day  there  is  only  one  sailing  vessel  plying  regularly 


TERRITORY  OF  HAWAII  !73 

between  San  Francisco  and  the  islands,  and  she  usually  loads 
at  a  port  where  the  large  freighting  steamers  do  not  care  to 
venture. 

Annexation  to  the  United  States  in  1898  was  the  next  im- 
portant step  in  the  development  of  Hawaii.  Its  immediate 
effect  was  to  create  a  feeling  of  security  and  confidence  in  every 
direction,  for  while  the  reciprocity  treaty  had  produced  excel- 
lent results,  the  danger  of  its  being  made  the  subject  of  attack 
in  Congress  was  ever  present.The  hoisting  of  the  American  flag 
in  the  islands  permanently  dispelled  any  anxiety  on  that  score. 

Of  all  the  early  pioneers  whose  steadfastness  and  courage 
kept  the  sugar  industry  alive  through  so  many  vicissitudes,  but 
few  survive.  Their  descendants  have  succeeded  to  their  posses- 
sions and  responsibilities,  and  today  in  Hawaii  cane  cultivation 
and  sugar  manufacture  have  attained  a  higher  degree  of  devel- 
opment than  has  been  reached  by  any  other  country  in  the 
world.  Crude  methods  and  appliances  have  long  since  disap- 
peared. Scientific  principles  govern  the  treatment  of  the  land 
and  the  selection  and  care  of  the  cane.  The  irrigation  works  are 
marvels  of  engineering  skill.  The  mills  are  modern  steel-frame 
structures,  with  concrete  floors  and  equipped  with  machinery 
of  the  most  improved  type.  And  the  end  is  not  yet.  The  minds 
of  many  highly  trained  men  are  constantly  at  work  upon  the 
various  problems  presented  by  the  industry,  and  what  the  fruit 
of  their  effort  will  be,  who  shall  say? 

Production  of  Hawaii  since  1837  in  tons  of  2240  pounds:    (A* 

1837  2        1844         229 

1838  40        1845         135 

1839  45        1846         134 

1840  161        1847        225 

1841  27        1848        223 

1842  ...        1849        292 

1843  5ii        1850        335 


HISTORICAL 


1851 

9 

1884 

63,685 

1852 

312 

1885 

76,496 

1853 

287 

1886 

96,528 

1854 

257 

1887 

94,984 

1855 

129 

1888 

105,307 

1856 

248 

1889 

108,110 

1857 

313 

1890 

"5,977 

1858 

538 

1891 

122,761 

1859 

816 

1892 

109,178 

1860 

645 

1893 

136,269 

1861 

i,i44 

1894 

148,600 

1862 

i,342 

1895 

133,596 

1863 

2,363 

1896 

201,632 

1864 

4,649 

1897 

224,200 

1865 

6,838 

1898 

204,834 

1866 

7,915 

1899 

-252,506 

1867 

7,646 

1900 

258,522 

1868 

8,175 

1901 

321,463 

1869 

8,171 

1902 

317,5*0 

1870 

,8,386 

1903 

391,063 

1871 

9,715 

1904 

328,103 

1872 

7,587 

1905 

38o,579 

1873 

10,326 

1906 

383,226 

1874 

10,967 

1907 

392,872 

i875 

11,197 

1908 

465,288 

1876 

11,640- 

1909 

477,818 

i*77 

11,418 

1910 

461,687 

1878 

17,157  . 

1911 

506,090 

1879 

21,884 

19-12 

53i,48o 

1880 

28,386 

I9'i3 

488,212 

1881 

41,870 

1914 

550,926 

1882 

50,572 

1915 

577,i83 

1883 

50,941 

1916 

545,00° 

LOUISIANA 

THE  cane  crop  of  Louisiana  comes  from  the  southern 
part  of  the  state,  principally  along  the  banks  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi, the  Bayou  Teche  and  the  Bayou  Lafourche.  As 
this  region  is  outside  the  tropics,  being  between  29  degrees  and 
31  degrees  north  latitude,  frosts  must  be  looked  for  in  winter. 
The  sugar  industry^of  .Louisiana,  therefore,  as  well  as  that  of 
Texas,  Florida  and  Georgia,  has  to  cope  with  climatic  condi- 
tions that  are  unknown  in  most  other  cane-producing  countries. 
All  of  the  sugar  plantations  are  situated  in  the  low  plains,  the 
highest  elevation  above  sea-level  not  exceeding  83  feet.  The 
annual  rainfall  varies  from  67  to  95  inches,  and  80  inches  may  be 
taken  as  a  fair  average,  which  amply  suffices  for  the  needs  of  the 
growing  cane.  In  December,  January  and  February  there  is 
always  the  danger  of  frost  and  planters  must  be  constantly 
alert  to  guard  against  this  as  far  as  possible.  During  the  au- 
tumnal equinox  much  damage  to  the  cane  is  caused  by  hurri- 
canes that  rush  in  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Sugar  cane  was  brought  to  Louisiana  in  1751.  According  to 
Gayarre,  two  ships  that  were  transporting  troops  from  France 
to  Louisiana  touched  at  a  port  in  Hispaniola  during  the  voyage 
and  the  Jesuits  of  the  island  obtained  permission  to  put  some 
sugar  cane  on  board  these  vessels  to  be  taken  to  Louisiana  and 
there  delivered  to  their  Jesuit  brethren. 

/  The  same  means  were  employed  to  send  a  number  of  negroes 
to  cultivate  the  cane,  which  was  planted  according  to  direction 
Jon  a  piece  of  ground  belonging  to  the  order  situated  just  above 
the  present  course  of  Canal  street,  New  Orleans.  The  cane 
grew  to  maturity  and  was  sold  in  the  market  as  a  luxury. 


176  HISTORICAL 

In  1759  a  rich  colonist,  Dubreuil  by  name,  built  a  mill  and 
attempted  to  make  sugar,  but  his  efforts  were  unsuccessful  and 
the  idea  was  abandoned.  Tafia,  a  kind  of  rum,  was  made  from 
sugar  cane  shortly  afterward. 

In  1791  Don  Antonio  Mendez,  an  officer  of  the  Spanish 
crown  who  lived  in  St.  Bernard  parish,  bought  from  a  Spanish 
refugee  from  Santo  Domingo  named  Solis  his  land,  crop  of  cane 
and  distilling  outfit  and  attacked  the  problem  with  a  firm  de- 
termination to  conquer  it.  He  called  in  a  Cuban  sugar  maker 
named  Morin  to  assist  him,  but  whether  it  was  that  he  lacked 
the  means  to  erect  a  proper  factory,  or  whether  he  became  dis- 
couraged, the  fact  remains  that  he  only  succeeded  in  turning 
out  a  few  small  barrels  of  sugar.  There  is  evidence  that  he  did 
something  in  the  way  of  refining  as  well,  but  not  in  an  appreci- 
able quantity. 

The  first  crop  of  sugar  sufficiently  large  and  profitable  to 
serve  as  an  incentive  to  others  was  raised  by  Etienne  de  Bore 
about  1794.  Of  this  achievement  Gayarre  says:  "When  the 
whole  agricultural  interest  of  Louisiana  was  thus  prostrated 
and  looking  around  for  the  discovery  of  some  means  to  escape 
from  annihilation,  and  the  eager  and  anxious  inquiry  of  every 
planter  was  'What  shall  I  do  to  pay  my  debts  and  support  my 
family?',  the  energy  of  one  of  the  most  spirited  and  respected 
citizens  of  Louisiana  suddenly  saved  her  from  utter  ruin  and 
raised  her  to  that  state  of  prosperity  which  has  increased  with 
each  successive  year/'1 

In  1794  de  Bore  purchased  seed  cane  from  Mendez  and  Solis 
and  after  planting  it  he  went  ahead  with  his  preparations  for 
harvesting,  crushing  and  manufacturing.  The  following  year 
the  sugar  he  produced  sold  for  $12,000,  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  in  those  days.  The  boiling  of  the  sugar  juice  to  grain 
was  done  under  the  direction  of  Antoine  Morin,  the  former  as- 

1  Written  in  1851. 


LOUISIANA  177 

sociate  of  Mendez.  The  method  was  naturally  very  primitive, 
the  mill  being  driven  by  animal  power,  and  much  sugar  was  lost 
in  the  bagasse. 

Following  the  example  of  de  Bore,  many  planters  set  out  cane 
and  built  sugar  mills.  Their  operations  were  highly  successful 
and  they  all  became  wealthy  within  a  comparatively  short 
period. 

The  industry  continued  to  flourish  and  prosper,  and  the  year 
1820  marked  a  decided  step  forward.  Up  to  that  time  the  only 
two  kinds  of  cane  that  had  been  grown  in  Louisiana  were  the 
Creole  (from  Malabar  or  Bengal)  and  the  Tahiti.  The  cane 
originally  planted  by  de  Bore  and  from  which  he  made  his  first 
sugar  was  the  Creole;  the  Tahiti  variety  was  not  introduced 
from  Santo  Domingo  until  1797.  It  became  patent  to  the  plant- 
ers that  neither  of  these  canes  was  suited  to  the  Louisianan 
climate,  and  they  set  about  looking  for  a  hardier  plant.  To- 
ward the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  purple  and 
striped  varieties  were  brought  by  the  Dutch  from  Java  to  the 
island  of  St.  Eustatius,  and  from  there  a  quantity  of  these  canes 
was  taken  to  Savannah,  Georgia,  about  1814.  They  throve  ex- 
tremely well  and  a  former  resident  of  Savannah  who  had  moved 
to  Louisiana  and  become  a  planter  there,"  having  heard  about 
them,  secured  some  for  seed  purposes.  His  experiment  proved 
wonderfully  successful  and  from  this  single  estate  the  cultiva- 
tion of  the  new  canes  spread  over  the  entire  sugar-producing 
region.  As  these  varieties  could  stand  greater  cold  than  the 
Creole  and  the  Tahiti,  the  planters  were  able  to  extend  their 
growing  area  northward  and  in  this  way  greatly  increase  their 
acreage.  As  recently  as  1897  these  canes  still  constituted  the 
crops  of  Louisiana  with  a  few  exceptions. 

Of  late  years,  however,  seedling  canes  obtained  from  Deme- 
rara  have  come  into  great  favor  in  consequence  of  the  re- 
searches of  the  botanists  at  the  experiment  station.  In  addition 


178  HISTORICAL 

to  an  advantage  both  in  cane  and  sugar  over  the  varieties  pre- 
viously used,  the  time  of  vegetation  is  shorter,  so  that  the  canes 
mature  earlier,  and  this,  on  account  of  the  short  season  in  which 
Louisianan  cane  has  to  ripen,  makes  the  Demeraran  decidedly 
desirable.  It  has  also  been  proved  that  Demeraran  cane  is  bet- 
ter able  to  resist  damage  by  storms,  so  that  taking  it  all  in  all 
it  would  appear  that  the  newer  varieties  are  quite  likely  to  dis- 
place the  older  kinds. 

Cane  is  usually  planted  in  the  same  ground  every  three  years. 
The  crop  of  plant  cane  is  followed  by  a  crop  of  ratoons  and  then 
maize  is  put  in.  As  soon  as  the  maize  is  cut  the  field  is  sown 
with  a  species  of  large  pea  (Vigna  sinensis)  and  when  summer  is 
over  the  pea  vines  and  the  maize  stubble  are  ploughed  under.  A 
month  after  this  is  done,  furrows  are  dug  about  six  feet  apart 
and  early  in  October  cane  is  planted  once  more.  In  this  opera- 
tion two  rows  of  whole  cane  stalks  are  placed  in  the  furrows 
and  covered  with  five  or  six  inches  of  earth  as  a  protection 
against  frost.  Most  of  this  layer  of  earth  is  removed  in  the 
spring  to  help  the  growth  of  the  young  cane  shoots.  Stable 
manure,  cotton-seed  meal,  nitrates,  phosphates  and  kainite  are 
used  as  fertilizers. 

Harvesting  begins  at  the  end  of  November,  and,  weather  per- 
mitting, the  cane  is  allowed  to  remain  standing  in  the  fields 
until  required  for  grinding.  If,  however,  the  Government 
Weather  Bureau  should  predict  cold,  the  cane  is  cut  without 
delay,  piled  in  the  furrows  and  covered  with  dry  cane  leaves  to 
prevent  it  from  freezing.  Cane  stored  in  this  manner  keeps  well 
so  long  as  the  weather  remains  cold,  but  as  soon  as  warm 
weather  comes  it  rapidly  deteriorates. 

Labor  in  Louisiana  is  both  scarce  and  costly,  consequently 
agricultural  machinery  is  used  in  the  fields  as  far  as  possible. 

The  steam  engine  was  first  employed  in  the  crushing  of  cane 
in  the  year  1822.  About  this  time,  when  slavery  was  such  a  tre- 


LOUISIANA  179 

mendous  factor  in  the  South,  sugar  raising  was  marked  by  a 
tendency  toward  the  large  plantation  method.  From  1830  to 
1840  the  number  of  plantations  in  Louisiana  decreased,  but  the 
number  of  slaves  employed  on  them  increased  40  per  cent. 
Later,  however,  the  plantations  began  to  grow  in  number  and 
by  1853  there  were  more  than  fifteen  hundred  of  them,  as 
against  668  thirteen  years  previous.  In  those  days,  each  planta- 
tion had  its  own  sugar  mill,  so  that  1853  may  be  taken  as  close 
to  the  high-water  mark  for  the  number  of  mills  in  the  South. 
With  the  outbreak  of  the  Civil  war,  the  industry  was  virtually 
wiped  out  of  existence,and  when  its  rehabilitation  was  begun, it 
was  carried  on  along  entirely  different  lines  and  the  separation 
of  the  raising  of  sugar  from  the  manufacture  was  gradually 
brought  about.  Year  by  year  the  small  mills  were  abandoned  and 
the  crops  of  cane  raised  by  the  planters,  large  and  small,  were 
brought  to  the  central  factory  to  be  worked  up.  Today,  where 
large  plantations  still  exist,  it  is  the  practice  to  rent  subdivisions 
of  land  from  twenty  to  fifty  acres  in  size  to  tenants  who  grow 
cane  for  the  central  mill. 

In  1880  there  were  1144  small  sugar  mills  in  Louisiana  and 
their  output  of  sugar  was  121,886  tons.  In  1911,  187  mills  han- 
dled a  crop  of  5,930,000  tons  of  cane  which  gave  308,439  tons  of 
sugar,  and  this  would  have  been  considerably  exceeded  had  it 
not  been  for  a  disastrous  freeze.  In  1880,  273  factories  used 
horse  power,  in  1900  only  5,  in  1905  none  at  all.  The  advent  of 
the  vacuum  pan  and  the  consequent  abolition  of  the  open-kettle 
method  marked  another  great  advance  in  manufacturing  de- 
velopment. In  1880  about  42  per  cent  of  the  sugar  produced 
in  Louisiana  was  turned  out  by  factories  equipped  with  vacuum 
pans.  The  government  statistics  for  1909  show  a  total  of  316,- 
829  tons  of  sugar  boiled  in  vacuum  pans  and  only  3,678  tons  of 
open-kettle  sugar. 

As  has  been  said,  the  growing  season  for  cane  in  Louisiana 


180  HISTORICAL 

is  limited  and  the  harvesting  is  done  before  the  plant  has  at- 
tained its  full  maturity.  Whether  or  not  this  has  any  effect  upon 
the  flavor  of  the  sugar  and  molasses  produced  is  a  moot  point. 
It  is  none  the  less  true,  however,  that  the  Louisiana  "Clari- 
fieds"  and  the  so-called  New  Orleans  molasses  possess  a  flavor 
distinctively  their  own. 

In  the  plantation  fields,  too,  the  scientists  have  worked  won- 
ders. To  illustrate  the  benefit  resulting  from  the  application  of 
modern  methods  to  the  cultivation  of  cane,  in  1885  the  average 
yield  of  cane  per  acre  in  Louisiana  was  about  three-quarters  of 
a  ton,  while  in  1909  the  average  yield  per  acre  in  cane  was  about 
20  tons,  the  recovery  of  sugar  per  ton  of  cane  over  157  pounds, 
or  3140  pounds  of  sugar  per  acre. 

The  Louisiana  state  experiment  station  was  established  by 
the  sugar  planters  at  Audubon  park,  New  Orleans,  in  1885  and 
endowed  for  a  term  of  years.  This  institution  has  grown  in  im- 
portance until  at  the  present  time  it  has  ample  grounds,  well- 
equipped  laboratories  and  a  sugar  house  with  an  installation  of 
the  latest  and  best  sugar-manufacturing  machinery,  all  directed 
and  operated  by  the  students  of  the  institution.  Here  is  carried 
on  the  work  of  developing  seedlings,  improvement  of  cane  va- 
rieties, investigation  of  cane  diseases,  together  with  the  study 
of  all  questions  of  bettering  plantation  and  factory  methods. 

The  sugar  production  of  Louisiana  in  long  tons  from  1860-61 
to  the  present  time  is  as  follows : 

1 860-6 1  H7,43i  1868-69  42,617 

1861-62          235,856  1869-70  44,382 

1862-63  43^32  1870-71  75,369 

1863-64  39,690  1871-72  65,635 

1864-65  5,331  1872-73  55,891 

1865-66  9,287  1873-74  46,078 

1866-67  21,074  !874-75  60,100 

1867-68  19,289  1875-76  72,958 


LOUISIANA 


1876-77 

85,102 

1896-97 

282,009 

1877-78 

65,835 

1897-98 

3io,447 

1878-79 

106,909 

1898-99 

245,5n 

1879-80 

88,836 

1899-00 

147,164 

1  880-8  1 

121,886 

1900-01 

270,338 

1881-82 

71,304 

1901-02 

321,676 

1882-83 

136,167 

1902-03 

329,226 

1883-84 

128,318 

1903-04 

228,476 

1884-85 

94,372 

1904-05 

355,530 

1885-86 

127,958 

1905-06 

336,751 

1886-87 

80,858 

1906-07 

188,571 

1887-88 

157,970 

1907-08 

302,855 

1888-89 

144,878 

1908-09 

273,178 

1889-90 

128,343 

1909-10 

269,431 

1890-91 

215,843 

1910-11 

263,308 

1891-92 

160,937 

1911-12 

315,066 

1892-93 

201,816 

1912-13 

137,^9 

1893-94 

265,836 

1913-14 

261,337 

1894-95 

317,306 

1914-15 

216,696 

1895-96 

237,720 

1915-16 

122,768 

PORTO  RICO 

PORTO  RICO,  the  most  easterly  and  the  fourth  in  size  of 
the  Greater  Antilles,  lies  at  the  entrance  to  the  Carib- 
bean sea,  between  17  degrees  50  minutes  and  18  degrees 
30  minutes  north  latitude  and  between  65  degrees  30  minutes 
and  67  degrees  15  minutes  west  longitude.  It  is  about  100  miles 
long  by  36  miles  wide  and  has  an  area  of  3606  square  miles. 

A  range  of  mountains  from  2000  feet  to  3700  feet  in  height 
runs  from  east  to  west.  The  south  slope  of  the  island  rises  ab- 
ruptly from  the  foothills,  while  on  the  north  the  ascent  is  more 
gradual  and  broken  to  a  great  extent  by  rugged  spurs  and  deep 
ravines.  There  is  but  little  coastal  plain  on  the  north,  except  at 
the  river  mouths,  but  on  the  south  a  considerable  stretch  of 
lowlands  is  found.  Although  many  indentations  occur  in  the 
coast  line,  few  of  them  afford  safe  shelter  for  ships.  There  are 
thirty-nine  rivers  and  a  great  number  of  smaller  streams,  but 
none  of  the  rivers  is  navigable  for  more  than  a  mile  or  two  from 
the  sea. 

The  climate  is  healthful  and  is  tempered  by  the  northeast 
trade  winds  that,  with  certain  modifications  due  to  local  condi- 
tions, blow  steadily  the  year  round.  The  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture is  about  80  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  rainy  season  begins 
in  May  and  ends  in  November  and  the  average  yearly  precipi- 
tation at  the  foot  of  Mount  El  Yunque  on  the  northeast  coast 
is  120  inches.  At  San  Juan  it  is  55  inches,  while  other  sections 
of  the  island  are  semi-arid  or  subject  to  severe  droughts.  Porto 
Rico  is  particularly  free  from  epidemics.  The  last  case  of  yellow 
fever  was  reported  in  1897.  Cholera  and  bubonic  plague  are  un- 
known, and  dysentery  diseases,  formerly  common,  are  steadily 


PORTO  RICO  183 

decreasing.  Like  other  West  Indian  islands,  it  is  subject  to  hur- 
ricanes, that  of  1899  having  been  unusually  disastrous.  The 
census  of  1910  gave  the  population  as  1,118,012. 

The  soil  is  fertile  and  may  be  divided  into  three  classes.  First, 
the  red  soil,  generally  found  in  the  mountains;  second,  the 
black  soil,  containing  much  humus,  and  third,  the  coral  sand 
soil  of  the  coast  plains.  The  black  has  proved  to  be  the  best  for 
sugar  cane,  although  excellent  yields  have  been  obtained  from 
the  coast  lands.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  both  soil  and 
climate  are  well  suited  to  cane  cultivation,  the  extension  of  the 
industry  is  checked  by  the  formation  of  the  country.  The  hilly 
character  of  the  island  and  the  comparatively  limited  trans- 
portation facilities  do  not  admit  of  cane  being  grown  in  the  in- 
terior. All  of  the  modern  plantations  are  near  the  coast,  where 
sugar  can  be  easily  transported  to  steamers.  In  the  north  cane 
may  be  raised  without  irrigation,  but  in  the  south,  where  the 
greater  part  of  the  crop  is  produced,  irrigation  is  necessary. 
About  400,000  acres  of  the  surface  of  Porto  Rico  are  under  cul- 
tivation and  half  of  this  area  is  devoted  to  sugar.  The  cane 
grows  chiefly  on  the  rich  alluvial  lowlands  along  the  coast.  On 
the  southern  seaboard  there  is  plenty  of  good  land  that  has 
never  been  planted,  but  to  make  this  available  for  agriculture 
means  the  construction  of  costly  irrigation  works  with  exten- 
sive aqueducts  and  much  tunneling. 

Porto  Rico  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1493.  The  name 
Puerto  Rico  dates  from  1521,  when  gold  was  found  in  the 
island.  The  natives  suffered  cruelly  at  the  hands  of  their  con- 
querors up  to  the  year  1544,  when  they  were  set  free  by  the 
order  of  King  Charles  I  of  Spain.1  Out  of  a  population  origi- 
nally estimated  at  600,000  only  a  few  hundred  remained.  Great 
numbers  had  died  and  many  had  fled  to  Mexico  and  Peru,  but 
the  Spaniards  soon  filled  their  places  with  African  negroes. 

1  Elected  emperor  of  the  Roman  empire  as  Charles  V. 


184  HISTORICAL 

For  three  centuries  the  island  was  harried  by  the  English, 
attacked  by  pirates  and  freebooters,  torn  by  rebellion  among 
the  slaves  or  terrorized  by  the  fleets  of  the  Dutch,  who  were  in- 
tent upon  its  conquest,  so  that  Spain  was  kept  constantly  on 
her  guard  to  prevent  her  colony  from  being  wrested  from  her. 
This  state  of  affairs  naturally  did  not  encourage  population. 
The  country  could  not  meet  the  cost  of  its  administration  and 
the  deficit  had  to  be  paid  out  of  the  revenues  of  Mexico.  Up  to 
1778  only  Spaniards  were  allowed  to  settle  there,  but  after  that 
date  the  privilege  was  granted  to  people  of  other  countries,  pro- 
vided they  were  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith,  and  in  1815  all 
restrictions  were  removed.  Foreigners  were  welcomed  to  the 
island  and  many  inducements  offered  them.  Trade  with  the 
United  States  was  permitted  in  1815,  but  only  in  Spanish  ships. 

This  liberal  policy  brought  many  planters  from  the  British 
and  French  islands,  and  as  they  had  experience,  capital  and 
slaves,  they  did  much  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  colony. 
Subsequently  many  refugees  came  from  Haiti,  Santo  Domingo 
and  Venezuela. 

Slavery  in  Spanish  possessions  was  abolished  in  1873  and 
34,000  slaves  in  Porto  Rico  received  their  freedom. 

After  Alphonso  XII  ascended  the  Spanish  throne  in  1875, 
commercial  conditions  in  the  island  showed  a  certain  improve- 
ment, but  politically  the  situation  was  deplorable,  reflecting  as 
it  did  all  the  bad  features  of  an  obsolete  system  of  government, 
complicated  by  a  liberalism  that  was  premature.  By  reason  of 
its  arbitrary  decrees  and  many  acts  of  persecution,  the  adminis- 
tration stirred  up  a  feeling  of  bitter  antagonism  on  the  part  of 
the  colonists.  A  step  toward  reform  was  taken  in  1877,  when 
the  provincial  deputation  was  re-established,  and  eighteen 
years  afterward,  the  home  government,  in  response  to  vigorous 
demands  from  foreign  nations,  attempted  to  pass  measures  to 
effectively  remedy  existing  evils,  but  it  was  far  too  late.  The 


PORTO  RICO  185 

island  received  a  grant  of  autonomy  in  November,  1897,  and  in 
July  of  the  following  year  it  was  taken  over  by  the  United 
States. 

As  soon  as  this  became  an  accomplished  fact,  there  was  a 
marked  improvement  in  conditions,  especially  from  a  sugar 
point  of  view.  Up  to  this  time  much  attention  had  been  given  to 
the  cultivation  ofcoffee,  and  sugar  production  had  suffered  to  a 
certain  extent  in  consequence.  Spain  had  admitted  Porto  Rican 
coffee  free  while  protecting  it  by  duties  levied  on  foreign  coffee, 
but  when  the  island  passed  into  the  hands  of  America,  this  ad- 
vantage to  the  coffee  raiser  disappeared.  Besides,  the  hurricane 
of  1899  had  caused  great  damage  to  the  coffee  plantations  and 
the  combination  of  circumstances  proved  a  severe  setback  to 
the  coffee  industry. 

The  sugar  planters,  on  the  other  hand,  benefited  greatly  by 
annexation.  In  1889  the  government  allowed  a  reduction  of 
85  per  cent  on  the  duty  assessed  on  Porto  Rican  sugars  enter- 
ing the  United  States.  In  1901  they  came  in  absolutely  free  and 
Porto  Rico  has  enjoyed  the  full  protection  of  the  tariff  ever 
since. 

In  1900  Congress  passed  a  law  known  as  the  Foraker  act, 
which  provided  that  no  corporation  should  be  allowed  to  ac- 
quire more  than  500  acres  of  land  in  Porto  Rico  and  that  no 
stockholder  in  any  agricultural  company  operating  there 
should  be  permitted  to  hold  shares  in  any  other  corporation  of 
the  kind.  The  object  of  the  law  was,  of  course,  to  prevent  capi- 
talists from  buying  up  great  tracts  of  land  for  the  cultivation  of 
sugar  on  a  large  scale  to  the  detriment  of  the  native  land  owner. 

The  act,  however,  did  not  serve  the  interests  of  the  small 
Porto  Rican  farmer  as  its  framers  apparently  intended  it 
should.  The  owners  of  large  holdings  were  non-resident  and  the 
small  farmers  lacked  the  money  and  enterprise  to  carry  on  the 
industry  in  a  proper  manner.  The  law  excluded  that  which  was 


186  HISTORICAL 

most  urgently  needed,  namely  foreign  capital,  and  when  this 
fact  became  apparent,  the  provisions  of  the  measure  were  con- 
strued liberally  by  the  authorities,  so  that  of  late  years  extensive 
sugar  estates  have  been  started  in  Porto  Rico  with  American, 
British  and  French  backing,  and  the  production  has  grown 
from  85,000  tons  in  1902  to  378,509  tons  in  1916. 

Formerly  the  Porto  Rican  planters  used  to  harvest  cane  from 
the  same  lands  year  after  year,  without  using  fertilizers  of  any 
kind.  When  they  planted  new  cane,  the  soil  was  only  partially 
prepared;  the  subsoil  was  never  cleared  of  roots  and  rough 
grasses  and  cultivation  was  only  indifferently  done.  The  result 
is  that  many  cane  fields  are  now  practically  exhausted  and 
some  planters  find  that  their  lands  are  becoming  spoiled  by 
rapidly  multiplying  weeds. 

Today  the  usual  method  is  to  plough  the  ground  twice  before 
putting  in  the  seed.  Deep  ploughing  is  taking  the  place  of 
scratching  the  surface  and  steam  ploughs  are  being  used  on  the 
larger  estates.  Where  the  soil  is  heavy  and  the  rainfall  abun- 
dant, the  furrows  are  dug  about  eight  feet  apart  and  two  feet 
deep  and  the  cane  planted  in  double  rows  at  four-foot  intervals. 
In  dry,  sandy  soil  the  planting  is  in  single  rows  and  the  distance 
between  the  furrows  ranges  from  four  to  six  feet,  according  to 
how  rich  the  soil  is.  The  fields  are  kept  free  from  weeds  and 
manure  is  used  but  seldom. 

The  greater  part  of  the  cane  is  planted  during  the  last  four 
months  of  the  year  and  crushing  is  begun  in  the  second  Janu- 
ary following,  which  gives  the  cane  a  growing  period  of  four- 
teen months  or  more.  Some  planting  is  done  in  January,  Febru- 
ary and  March  and  this  cane  is  cut  in  twelve  months.  Then  a 
certain  amount  is  planted  between  March  and  June,  and  if  the 
sugar  content  proves  satisfactory,  it  is  ground  the  following 
season;  if  not,  it  is  allowed  to  remain  standing  for  another  year. 
Planting  is  done  every  four  years  and  the  best  results  are  ob- 


PORTO  RICO  J&7 

tained  from  the  first  and  second  ratoon  crops.  The  yield  of  cane 
per  acre  averages  about  18  long  tons,  although  this  has  been 
exceeded  in  good  years.  The  cane  is  cut  close  to  the  ground 
with  a  machete  and  loaded  on  ox-carts  to  be  taken  to  the  mill  or 
the  railway  station,  according  to  the  location  of  the  field. 

Almost  all  of  the  cane  grown  in  Porto  Rico  is  ground  in  the 
large  central  factories,  but  it  is  only  during  the  last  ten  or 
twelve  years  that  this  has  been  done.  The  small  mills  have  dis- 
appeared for  the  most  part,  although  a  few  have  been  able  to 
struggle  along. 

The  centrals  usually  raise  about  one-half  of  the  cane  they 
grind.  The  rest  they  buy  from  the  colono,who  grows  cane  either 
on  his  own  land  or  upon  ground  rented  to  him  by  the  central 
owner.  As  a  rule  the  price  paid  to  the  colono  for  his  cane  is  5  per 
cent  of  the  weight  of  the  cane  in  sugar,  although  this  is  subject 
to  modification  at  times.  As  the  central  factories  are  of  recent 
construction,  they  are  equipped  with  the  newest  and  best  ma- 
chinery and  the  most  scientific  methods  govern  their  operation. 

In  1853  Porto  Rico  exported  112,000  tons  of  sugar;  the  fol- 
lowing year  the  amount  was  70,000  tons  and  during  the  next 
twenty  years  it  remained  nearly  stationary.  In  1871  the  produc- 
tion reached  105,000  tons,  dropping  back  to  89,000  tons  in  1885 
and  65,000  tons  in  1886.  The  crop  of  1900  was  very  small — 
35,000  tons — owing  to  the  havoc  wrought  by  an  unusually  se- 
vere hurricane,  but  from  that  time  on  it  has  increased  year  by 
year. 

As  most  of  the  diseases  and  pests  that  attack  sugar  cane  are 
met  with  in  Porto  Rico,  it  is  obvious  that  the  work  of  the 
United  States  agricultural  station  at  Mayaquez  has  been  of  in- 
estimable benefit  to  the  planters.  Experimenting  with  different 
varieties  of  cane,  importing  seed  cane  from  other  countries, 
analysis  of  soils,  scientific  advice  upon  the  use  of  fertilizers  and 
instruction  as  to  the  best  means  to  destroy  or  control  harmful 


1 88  HISTORICAL 

parasites,  these  are  but  a  few  of  the  many  important  services 
rendered  by  the  station. 

The  outlook  for  Porto  Rico's  sugar  industry  seems  hopeful. 
Labor  is  cheap  and  abundant,  climatic  and  soil  conditions  are 
favorable  and  an  irrigation  project  at  present  under  way  prom- 
ises to  convert  lands  now  arid  into  productive  cane  fields. 

Since  1900  the  production  of  sugar  in  Porto  Rico  in  tons  of 
2240  pounds  has  been : 


1900 

35,000 

1908 

200,000 

1901 

80,000 

1909 

245,000 

1902 

85,000 

1910 

308,000 

1903 

85,000 

1911 

295,000 

1904 

130,000 

1912 

320,000 

1905 

145,000 

1913 

350,323 

1906 

213,000 

1914 

325,000 

1907 

210,000 

1915 

308,178 

1916 

378,509 

THE  PHILIPPINES 

THIS  group  of  islands  is  situated  about  500  miles  off  the 
southeast  coast  of  Asia,  between  4  degrees  10  minutes 
and  21  degrees  10  minutes  north  latitude  and  between 
116  degrees  40  minutes  and  126  degrees  34  minutes  east  longi- 
tude. It  is  bounded  on  the  west  and  north  by  the  China  sea,  on 
the  east  by  the  Pacific  ocean  and  on  the  south  by  the  Celebes 
sea.  It  comprises  3141  islands,  of  which  2775  contain  less  than 
one  square  mile  each.  According  to  the  Philippine  census  of 
1903  the  total  area  is  115,026  square  miles,1  although  some  au- 
thorities estimate  it  to  be  as  much  as  127,800  square  miles. 
Two-thirds  of  this  is  forest  land  and  not  more  than  9^  per  cent 
of  the  entire  archipelago  was  classified  under  Farms  in  1903. 
The  area  devoted  to  sugar  cane  the  year  previous  was  177,628 
acres,  about  5  per  cent  of  the  cultivated  land. 

The  islands  are  chiefly  of  volcanic  origin  and  their  surface  is 
much  broken  by  hills,  isolated  volcanoes  and  mountain  ranges 
running  north  and  south,  northwest  and  southeast  or  north- 
east and  southwest.  There  are  twelve  active  volcanoes  in  the 
group  and  eight  others  with  well-defined  cones  that  are  either 
dormant  or  extinct.  The  highest  elevation  in  the  islands  is 
Mount  Apo,  an  extinct  volcano  on  Mindanao,  10,312  feet,  with 
Mount  Mayon,  an  active  volcano  on  Luzon,  next,  8970  feet. 
Earthquakes  are  frequent  and  occasionally  violent. 

The  most  important  of  the  group  are  Mindanao,  Luzon, 
Samar,  Palawan,  Panay,  Negros,  Leyte,  Mindoro,  Cebu,  Mas- 
bate  and  Bohol.  The  coast  line,  which  is  over  11,000  miles  in 
length,  is  fringed  with  coral  reefs  and  indented  by  many  gulfs 

1  U.  S.  War  Department.  Bureau  of  Insular  Affairs,  Washington,  12-16-14. 


I90  HISTORICAL 

and  bays.  There  are  plenty  of  good  natural  harbors,  the  prin- 
cipal one  being  Manila  in  Luzon,  which  affords  perfect  shelter 
for  shipping,  even  in  the  severest  storms.  Next  in  importance 
are  the  harbors  of  Iloilo  and  Cebu. 

Climatic  conditions  vary  widely.  However,  it  may  be  said  in 
a  general  way  that  the  climate  is  characterized  by  a  uniformly 
high  temperature,  excessive  humidity,  heavy  rainfall  and  vio- 
lent tropical  storms.  Near  the  seacoast,  it  is  moderate  between 
November  and  the  first  of  March.  The  latter  part  of  March  and 
the  months  of  July,  August  and  September  are  warm  and  very 
hot  weather  comes  in  April,  May  and  June.  The  nights,  how- 
ever, are  always  cool.  The  temperature  naturally  changes  as 
the  elevation  above  the  sea  increases,  but  at  ordinary  levels  it 
averages  77  degrees  Fahrenheit  in  January,  and  83  degrees  in 
May. 

The  annual  rainfall  is  about  74  inches,  and  two-thirds  of  this 
comes  in  July,  August,  September  and  October.  Of  course  the 
precipitation  in  certain  localities  is  Affected  by  mountain  ranges 
that  cause  condensation  from  moisture-laden  trade  winds.  In 
the  lowlands  that  are  not  protected  by  mountains,  the  rainfall 
is  regular.  Typhoons  occur  between  April  and  October,  but 
they  are  not  nearly  so  severe  as  the  hurricanes  that  visit  the 
West  Indies  and  Mauritius.  In  October,  1882,  a  typhoon  did  a 
great  deal  of  damage  in  Manila,  and  there  was  a  serious  loss  of 
life  in  the  great  storm  that  visited  Samar  and  Leyte  in  1897. 
The  well-appointed  observatory  in  Manila  sends  out  warnings 
of  the  approach  of  typhoons  and  much  life  and  property  are 
saved  by  this  means. 

The  soil  is  generally  reddish-brown  in  color  and  is  largely 
made  up  of  disintegrated  lava  with  an  admixture  of  decayed 
vegetable  matter;  sometimes  decomposed  coral  limestone  is 
present. 

John  W.  Dwinelle,  in  an  address  delivered  in  San  Francisco 


THE  PHILIPPINES  191 

in  1866,  said:  "Previous  to  the  discovery  of  America  by  Colum- 
bus in  1492,  the  Portuguese  had  discovered  the  Azore  islands 
in  longitude  31  W.,  and  on  the  strength  of  that  discovery 
claimed  that  the  countries  discovered  by  Columbus  belonged 
to  the  crown  of  Portugal,  and  that  the  Spaniards  should  be 
wholly  excluded  from  them.  But  the  Spaniards  refused  to  ad- 
mit this  pretension  and  referred  the  matter  for  decision  to  the 
Pope,  Alexander  VI.  It  was  then  part  of  the  law  of  nations,  and 
of  the  public  law  of  the  world,  that  the  Pope  was  the  ultimate 
source  of  all  temporal  power;  that  he  could  make  and  unmake 
kings,  and  dispose  of  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth — powers 
which  he  frequently  exercised  and  against  which  it  were  vain 
to  contend.  He  was  therefore,  by  general  consent,  the  acknowl- 
edged source  of  all  lawful  title  to  land.  He  assumed  to  decide 
the  case  thus  referred  to  his  decision,  and  on  May  3d,  A.  D. 
1493,  determined  the  matter  in  dispute  between  the  crowns  of 
Portugal  and  Spain,  by  drawing  an  imaginary  line  of  longitude 
one  hundred  leagues  west  of  the  Azores,  and  granting  to  the 
Spanish  monarchs  all  countries  inhabited  by  infidels,  which 
they  had  already  discovered,  or  might  afterwards  discover, 
lying  to  the  west,  and  to  the  crown  of  Portugal  all  those  lying 
to  the  east  of  that  line.  This  line  was  afterwards  removed  two 
hundred  and  seventy  leagues  further  to  the  west,  by  a  treaty 
subsequently  made  in  the  year  1494,  between  the  kings  of  Por- 
tugal and  Spain;  but  so  thoroughly  was  the  title  thus  conceded 
by  the  Pope  respected  by  the  civilized  world,  that  when  Henry 
VII  of  England  was  afterwards  about  to  intrude  upon  some  of 
the  dominions  thus  granted  to  Spain,  he  abandoned  his  project 
upon  being  warned  by  the  Pope  to  desist." 

This  division  of  the  surface  of  the  globe  into  two  parts  gave 
to  Portugal  all  the  territory  both  known  and  unknown  east  of 
the  arbitrary  meridian  drawn  470  miles  west  of  the  Cape  Verde 
islands,  and  to  Spain  everything  west  of  this  line. 


192  HISTORICAL 

Ferdinand  Magellan,  the  famous  Portuguese  navigator,  in 
the  service  of  the  Emperor  Charles  V  of  Spain,  set  out  on  a  voy- 
age west-bound  with  the  object  of  taking  possession  of  the 
Moluccas,  as  they  lay  west  of  the  line  of  demarcation.  Sailing 
around  Cape  Horn,  Magellan  discovered  the  Philippine  islands 
in  1521,  landing  first  on  Malhou,  between  Samar  and  Dinagat. 
Afterward,  he  touched  at  Mindanao,  from  which  he  sailed  to 
Cebii.  Thence  he  went  to  the  small  island  of  Mactan,  where  he 
was  killed  in  a  skirmish. 

But  little  action  was  taken  with  regard  to  this  territory  until 
after  the  accession  of  Philip  II  (hence  "las  Filipinas" — Philip- 
pines), when  an  important  expedition  was  fitted  out  at  the 
Mexican  port  of  Navidad.  It  sailed  in  November,  1564,  under 
the  command  of  Miguel  Lopez  de  Legaspi,  the  distinguished 
conquistador,  who,  in  the  following  year  established  on  the 
island  of  Cebii  the  first  permanent  settlement  in  the  Philip- 
pines. The  city  of  Manila  was  founded  in  1571  and  became  the 
capital  of  the  group.  Through  his  tact,  courage  and  resource- 
fulness, Legaspi  won  the  confidence  of  the  people  and  placed 
the  colony  on  a  sound  footing.  At  the  same  time  he  checked  all 
attempts  at  encroachment  on  the  part  of  the  Portuguese.  Span- 
ish rule  was  undisturbed  until  1762,  when  a  British  naval  force 
bombarded  Manila  and  occupied  it.  At  the  conclusion  of  the 
war  between  Great  Britain  and  Spain  in  1764,  the  British  with- 
drew and  the  domination  of  Spain  endured  until  1898,  when  the 
Spanish  fleet  was  destroyed  by  Dewey  at  Manila  bay. 

The  title  to  the  Philippines  therefore  passed  through  the 
Pope  to  Spain  and  from  Spain  to  the  United  States. 

When  Magellan  reached  these  islands  he  found  that  sugar 
was  made  in  a  primitive  fashion.  The  methods  employed  were 
very  much  like  those  in  vogue  in  China,  and  the  sugar,  when 
made,  greatly  resembled  the  Chinese  product.  This  is  very 
strong  presumptive  evidence  that  cane  and  the  knowledge  of  its 


THE  PHILIPPINES  193 

manufacture  were  originally  brought  to  the  Philippines  by  the 
Chinese. 

The  industry,  however,  amounted  to  very  little  prior  to  1849, 
in  which  year  the  island  of  Negros  was  placed  under  the  juris- 
diction of  the  religious  order  of  Recoletos,  who  did  much  to  en- 
courage the  manufacture  of  sugar,  and  this  movement  was 
stimulated  by  the  high  prices  resulting  from  the  Crimean  war. 
In  consequence,  cane  sugar  was  exported  with  profit  from 
Negros,  Luzon  and  Cebii.  Notwithstanding  the  lack  of  capital, 
the  rough,  crude  mills,  the  planters'  scant  knowledge  of  manu- 
facturing methods  and  the  wretched  transportation  facilities, 
the  sugar  trade  forged  rapidly  ahead  until  in  1893  the  exports 
totaled  257,550  long  tons.  A  slump  in  the  price  of  silver,  how- 
ever, brought  on  a  financial  crisis,  and  subsequently  internal 
dissensions  affected  the  crops  so  that  in  1901  only  51,448  tons 
were  exported.  Since  then  a  change  for  the  better  has  taken 
place  and  the  figures  for  1915-16  indicate  a  production  of  345,- 
ooo  tons. 

Sugar  cane  is  used  as  a  delicacy  in  all  of  the  inhabited  islands 
of  the  Philippine  group,  but  the  growing  and  manufacture  of  it 
as  a  regular  industry  are  confined  to  Negros,  Mindoro,  Cebu, 
Panay,  Luzon  and  Leyte.  In  1914-15  about  350,000  acres  alto- 
gether were  planted  in  cane,  and  the  quantity  of  sugar  exported 
during  1916  was  about  300,000  tons. 

The  first  care  of  the  United  States  after  its  occupancy  of  the 
Philippines  was  the  bettering  of  conditions  in  sanitation,  educa- 
tion, banking  methods,  railway  communication  and  deep  water 
terminals.  Apart  from  the  primitive  character  of  the  sugar  mills 
and  the  loss  growing  out  of  poor  extraction  of  juice,  open-kettle 
boiling  and  curing  in  earthen  pots,  the  sugar  producer  was  gen- 
erally in  debt  to  the  buyer  for  advances  that  carried  a  high  rate 
of  interest.  The  government  has  taken  steps  to  correct  this  evil 
and  has  made  it  possible  for  the  farmer  to  get  credit  on  reason- 


IQ4  HISTORICAL 

able  terms,  limiting  its  loans,  however,  to  those  who  have  Tor- 
rens  titles  to  their  property,1  but  the  Filipino  has  been  under 
the  influence  of  the  money-lenders  too  long  for  him  to  break  his 
bonds  entirely.  Besides,  his  instinctive  dislike  for  anything  new 
is  a  hindrance  to  progress  in  this  direction. 

In  addition  to  the  measures  just  alluded  to,  a  special  law  was 
passed  in  1902,  under  which  all  Philippine  sugars  entering  the 
United  States  paid  25  per  cent  less  than  the  regular  customs 
tariff.  The  Payne-Aldrich  bill  of  August  5,  1909,  provided  for 
free  admission  of  Philippine  sugars  up  to  300,000  gross  tons, 
and  it  stipulated  that  the  small  producer  (less  than  500  tons  per 
annum)  was  to  receive  first  consideration  in  the  event  of  the 
importation  exceeding  300,000  tons.  Any  excess  coming  into 
the  United  States  would  have  been  assessed  the  full  tariff.  Dur- 
ing the  life  of  this  legislation,  however,  the  largest  production 
of  the  islands  was  that  of  1913-14,  which  amounted  to  265,000 
tons,  of  which  225,000  tons  were  exported.2  The  tariff  act  of 
I9I3,  which  became  effective  March  i,  1914,  admits  all  Philip- 
pine sugars  free  of  duty  without  any  restriction  as  to  quantity. 

The  religious  orders  were  formerly  large  land  owners  in  the 
Philippines,  and  the  feeling  of  discontent  that  ultimately  led  to 
the  insurrection  of  the  Filipinos  against  Spain  in  1896  was 
largely  due  to  agrarian  difficulties  between  the  friars  and  their 
tenants.  When  the  revolution  came,  the  friars  had  to  flee  for 
their  lives,  and  after  peace  was  restored  by  the  United  States, 
the  insular  government  felt  that  if  they  returned  to  their  pos- 
sessions they  would  be  in  constant  danger  from  the  hostility  of 
the  natives.  It  was,  therefore,  decided  to  acquire  these  lands 
and  to  that  end  Congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  the  Philip- 

1  A  survey  under  the  Cadastral  survey  act,  passed  by  the  Philippine  legislature  in 
1913,  i.  e.,  a  survey  of  the  land  and  assessment  of  its  value  as  a  basis  for  taxation  would 
support  a  Torrens  title.  2  Harold  M.  Pitt  in  his  treatise,  Reciprocity  and  the  Philip- 
pine Islands,  Manila,  1911,  says  that  it  is  estimated  that  from  40,000  to  50,000  tons  of 
sugar  are  consumed  in  the  islands. 


THE  PHILIPPINES 

pine  government  to  issue  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $7,000,000 
and  to  purchase  the  lands  of  the  various  orders  with  the  money 
so  raised.  With  one  or  two  minor  exceptions,  all  of  these  lands, 
amounting  to  something  over  600,000  acres,  were  bought  by  the 
government  and  are  being  resold  on  long-term  payments  at  a 
price  that  will  reimburse  the  government.  In  disposing  of  this 
property  preference  is  always  given  to  the  resident  tenants. 

A  measure  was  carried  through  the  Philippine  legislature  ap- 
proving the  sale  of  the  unoccupied  portions  of  these  friar  estates 
to  individuals  without  restriction  as  to  acreage,  and  it  was 
under  the  provisions  of  this  act  that  large  tracts  of  land  were 
acquired  by  the  interests  connected  with  the  Mindoro  company 
in  the  San  Jose  estate  in  Mindoro  and  by  the  people  associated 
with  the  Calamba  estate  in  the  Calamba,  Santa  Rosa  and  Bifian 
districts  of  Laguna  province,  Luzon. 

Apart  from  these  so-called  friar  lands,  the  public  lands  in  the 
Philippine  islands  are  held  for  sale  or  lease  subject  to  the  fol- 
lowing conditions:  Corporations  can  purchase  or  lease  up  to 
1024  hectares,  or  2500  acres,  and  individuals  up  to  64  hectares, 
or  158  acres.  The  terms  of  sale  are  a  minimum  of  10  pesos,  or 
$5  per  hectare,  25  per  cent  of  which  must  be  paid  at  the  time  the 
contract  is  entered  into  and  the  remainder  within  five  years, 
with  interest  at  6  per  cent,  or  leased  at  a  minimum  rental  of  50 
centavos,  or  25  cents,  per  hectare  per  annum,  leases  running  for 
fifty  years. 

The  Mindoro  and  Calamba  companies,  controlling  55,000  and 
20,000  acres  respectively,  and  the  San  Carlos  Milling  company 
of  San  Carlos,  Negros,  have  erected  the  first  and  only  modern 
sugar  mills  in  the  Philippines,  and  they  have  gone  into  cane  cul- 
tivation and  sugar  manufacture  in  a  scientific  way.  The  man- 
agement of  these  three  enterprises  has  been  entrusted  to  men 
who  have  had  thorough  field  and  factory  experience  in  Hawaii. 

Unlike  the  other  two  large  companies,  the  San  Carlos  Milling 


196  HISTORICAL 

company  operates  a  central  pure  and  simple.  The  company 
owns  no  land  except  the  site  for  the  mill  and  the  outbuildings 
connected  with  it.  It  has,  however,  acquired  leases  of  a  certain 
amount  of  railway  trackage.  The  capacity  of  the  mill  is  1000 
tons  of  cane  per  day,  which  means  about  125  tons  of  centrifugal 
sugar.  It  was  completed  at  the  end  of  1913  at  a  cost  of  about  one 
million  dollars,  and  the  first  cane  ground  was  from  the  1914 
crop. 

In  the  Philippines  cane  is  not  planted  every  year.  Herbert  S. 
Walker,  in  his  work  "The  Sugar  Industry  in  the  Island  of  Ne- 
gros"  (Manila,  1910),  says:  "A  decidedly  large  proportion  of 
the  total  land  under  cultivation  in  Negros  is  not  replanted 
every  year,  but  is  allowed  to  ratoon,  from  two  to  eight  crops 
being  taken  off  without  replanting.  This  is  especially  true  in  the 
rich  soils  of  the  districts  around  Ilog-Cabancalan,  Binalbagan- 
Isabela,  San  Carlos  and  Bais.  Theoretically,  cane  planted  in 
some  of  these  alluvial  soils,  which  are  flooded  and  fertilized 
each  year  by  silt  brought  down  from  the  mountains  by  the  over- 
flow of  a  river,  might  go  on  ratooning  indefinitely.  Practically, 
the  period  between  plantings  is  limited  strictly  by  financial  con- 
siderations. 

"Much  time  and  expense  are  saved  by  not  being  obliged  to  re- 
plant. On  the  other  hand,  the  yield  from  plant  cane  is,  as  a  rule, 
greater  than  even  from  first  ratoons,  and  with  each  successive 
ratoon  crop  the  total  amount  of  sugar  produced  per  hectare  of 
land  is  decidedly  diminished.  This  is  partially  due  to  the  shorter 
time  in  which  the  cane  is  allowed  to  ripen.  Owing  to  excessive 
rains  prevalent  in  this  country,  canes  must  be  cut  every  year, 
and  the  practice  so  common  in  Hawaii  of  allowing  ratoons  to 
ripen  for  eighteen  months  or  more,  is  here  out  of  the  question. 
A  further  obstacle,  especially  when  canes  are  planted  closely  in 
rows,  is  the  tendency  of  ratoons  to  spread  out  in  every  direction 
from  the  original  plant  so  that  in  the  course  of  a  few  years  the 


THE  PHILIPPINES 

cane  rows  lose  all  semblance  of  regularity,  and  proper  tillage  of 
the  soil  is  rendered  very  difficult;  thus  many  young  ratoons  are 
stunted  in  their  growth  by  weeds." 

The  time  of  planting  in  most  parts  of  the  islands  is  usually 
from  December  until  April,  but  in  Negros,  where  the  soil  is 
good  and  the  rainfall  well  distributed,  planting  can  be  done  at 
almost  any  time,  except  during  the  period  of  very  heavy  rains, 
i.  e.j  from  July  to  October. 

The  yield  of  sugar  per  acre  may  be  approximated  as  follows : 

Plant  cane  2.5    tons 

First  ratoons  2.0      " 

Second  ratoons  1.75     " 

Third  ratoons  1.50    " 

Fourth  ratoons  1.25     " 

When  the  yield  drops  as  low  as  eight-tenths  of  a  ton  of  sugar 
per  acre,  replanting  is  necessary,  and  allowing  for  the  reduced 
yield  of  first  and  second  ratoons,  it  may  be  reckoned  that  one- 
half  of  the  production  is  from  plant  cane  and  the  other  half 
from  ratoon  crops. 

The  length  of  time  during  which  the  cane  is  allowed  to  re- 
main in  the  ground  varies  from  nine  to  fourteen  months  and 
will  probably  average  between  eleven  and  twelve.1 

The  labor  problem  is  present  in  the  Philippines  as  in  all  cane- 
sugar  countries.  The  natives  are  willing  enough  to  work,  but 
shrink  at  the  idea  of  leaving  their  homes  to  take  employment 
at  any  considerable  distance  away. 

Apart  from  the  three  modern  factories  previously  mentioned, 
sugar-making  facilities  are  greatly  behind  the  times,  although 
there  are  a  few  minor  exceptions.  Over  one  thousand  small 
mills  were  in  operation  in  the  islands  in  1907  and  of  these  528 
were  driven  by  steam,  470  by  carabao  (water  oxen)  or  natives, 

1  Walker,  H.  S.  The  Sugar  Industry  in  the  Island  of  Negros.Mznila,  1910. 


198  HISTORICAL 

and  77  by  water  power.  The  carabao  mills,  however,  are  rapidly 
disappearing.  The  capacity  of  most  of  these  small  mills  is  from 
50  to  60  tons  of  cane  per  day,  and,  as  the  cane  is  only  crushed 
once,  there  is  a  considerable  loss  in  recovery.  A  little  lime  is 
added  to  the  juice  to  clarify  it  and  it  is  then  boiled  to  grain  in 


a  series  of  five  or  six  open  pans.  The  general  arrangement  is 
shown  by  the  accompanying  sketch,  which  is  taken  from  Her- 
bert S.  Walker's  "Sugar  Industry  in  the  Island  of  Negros." 

The  drawing  shows  two  sets  of  pans,  each  set  being  built 
over  a  separate  furnace.  The  number  5  pan,  into  which  the  juice 


THE  PHILIPPINES  IO/9 

from  the  crusher  flows,  is  connected  to  both  sets.  The  furnaces 
are  fed  directly  under  number  i  pan,  where  the  final  boiling  is 
done  and  where  the  greatest  heat  is  required.  The  two  furnaces 
converge  when  they  reach  the  boiler,  which  may  be  fired  sepa- 
rately, so  that  grinding  and  boiling  may,  if  necessary,  be  done 
independently  of  each  other.  As  the  juice  leaves  the  crusher 
through  an  open  wooden  trough,  particles  of  cane  and  other 
matter  are  removed  by  straining  through  a  cloth  or  a  close- 
meshed  wire  screen.  It  runs  into  the  receiving  pan — number  5 
— and  is  heated  to  between  160  and  175  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
which  brings  certain  impurities  to  the  surface  in  the  form  of 
froth.  This  is  skimmed  off  and  thrown  into  the  scum  tank;  the 
juice  is  then  ladled  by  hand  as  required  into  the  smaller  pans 
(number  4)  where  lime  is  added  for  clarification.  Violent  agita- 
tion takes  place  in  pans  numbers  3  and  2,  and  as  fast  as  scum 
forms  it  is  skimmed  off.  The  clarified  juices  are  then  concen- 
trated in  pans  number  2  and  number  i,  after  which  the  masse- 
cuite  is  put  into  wooden  trays  and  stirred  with  a  spade  until  it 
granulates.  It  is  then  ready  to  be  taken  to  market. 

As  has  been  pointed  out,  the  loss  in  this  primitive  method  of 
manufacture  is  very  heavy.  Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  all 
of  the  molasses  is  retained  in  the  sugar,  the  amount  of  sucrose 
that  is  lost  or  wasted  is  44  per  cent,  and  over  one-half  of  this  is 
left  in  the  bagasse. 

Apart  from  centrifugals,  Philippine  sugars  consist  of  the  fol- 
lowing grades:  Superior,  Humedo  (wet)  and  Corriente  (cur- 
rent). Sugars  polarizing  from  87  to  88.9  degrees  are  called  Su- 
perior No.  i,  those  testing  from  85  to  86.9  degrees,  Superior 
No.  2,  and  those  running  from  80  to  84.9  degrees,  Superior  No. 
3.  Humedo  sugars  polarize  from  76  to  79.9  degrees  and  Cor- 
riente from  70  to  75.9  degrees.  Roughly  speaking,  the  propor- 
tions are  about  85  per  cent  of  Superior  of  84  degrees  purity  and 
15  per  cent  of  wet  sugar  testing  somewhere  near  75  degrees. 


200  HISTORICAL 

The  Bureau  of  Agriculture  of  the  Philippines  maintains  ex- 
periment stations  at  La  Granja,  near  La  Carlota,  Occidental 
Negros,  and  at  Calamba,  Luzon,  for  the  study  of  cane,  soil 
analysis  and  the  solving  of  fertilization  problems.  This  work 
of  scientific  investigation  is  sure  to  be  of  great  benefit  to  the  in- 
dustry. Some  experimental  work  with  sugar  cane  is  also  carried 
on  at  the  station  at  Alabang,  Laguna  province,  Luzon. 

American  control  in  the  Philippines  promises  much  for  the 
future  of  the  sugar  industry  of  these  islands,,  for  when  it  is  re- 
membered that  for  many  years,  in  spite  of  the  handicap  of 
crude,  uneconomic  methods,  export  duties  at  home  and  import 
duties  abroad,  sugar  was  made  and  sold  at  a  profit  in  the  mar- 
kets of  the  world,  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  look  for  a  consider- 
able stimulus  to  be  given  to  production  by  advanced  scientific 
management  and  free  admission  of  the  commodity  to  the  mar- 
kets of  the  United  States. 

Quantity  of  sugar  exported  from  the  Philippine  islands  from 
1895  to  1916,  in  tons  of  2240  pounds : 

1895  227,279          1906     122,417 

1896  226,279          1907     120,050 

1897  198,899          1908     140,197 

1898  177,962          1909     125,276 

!899  9^583  1910  H4,5o6 

1900  61,752  1911  203,394 

1901  5^448  i912  190,702 

1902  90,617  1913  155,201 

1903  88,144  1914  232,761 

1904  82,656  1915  207,679 

1905  103,334          1916     300,000 


CUBA 

THE  island  of  Cuba  lies  between  74  degrees  and  85  de- 
grees west  longitude  and  19  degrees  40  minutes  and  23 
degrees  33  minutes  north  latitude;  its  length  is  about 
730  miles,  running  nearly  east  and  west,  and  its  width  varies 
from  25  to  100  miles.  In  area  it  comprises  about  45,883  square 
miles,  or  29,365,120  acres,  which  is  approximately  that  of  Penn- 
sylvania or  Louisiana.  Habana,  the  capital,  is  almost  on  the 
same  parallel  as  Honolulu  and  the  City  of  Mexico. 

With  the  exception  of  a  strip  -of  the  central-southern  coast, 
Cuba  rises  boldly  out  of  the  sea  and  presents  a  rugged  appear- 
ance to  the  eye  on  approach.  About  one-quarter  of  its  surface 
is  mountainous;  three-fifths  consists  of  gently  sloping  country, 
valleys  and  rolling  plains;  the  rest  is  swampy. 

A  variety  of  topographic  and  climatic  characteristics  divides 
the  island  naturally  into  three  distinct  parts.  The  eastern  end 
is  high  and  broken,  with  tall  commanding  peaks ;  the  wide  cen- 
tral region,  lying  well  above  sea-level,  is  made  up  of  excellently 
drained,  undulating  plains,  interrupted  at  intervals  by  low, 
wooded  hills;  the  western  portion  is  a  picturesque  country  of 
mountain  and  valley,  but  of  lower  altitude  than  the  eastern 
end.  The  entire  island  is  covered  with  a  mantle  of  luxuriant 
verdure,  kept  always  green  by  warm  mists  and  generous  rains. 

A  coral  reef  extends  around  the  greater  part  of  the  coast,  but 
between  the  forbidding  rocks  and  the  marshes  there  are  a  num- 
ber of  good  harbors,  chiefest  among  which  is  that  of  Habana, 
one  of  the  finest  in  the  world.  The  distance  from  Cuba  to  Key 
West,  Florida,  is  one  hundred  miles.  The  census  of  1908  placed 
the  population  at  2,048,890. 


202  HISTORICAL 

The  prevailing  winds  are  the  northeast  trades,  but  these  are 
interrupted  at  frequent  intervals  by  variable  winds  from  other 
directions  which  bring  changes  in  temperature  and  rainfall. 
Compared  with  those  of  Hawaii,  the  mountains  are  low,  usual- 
ly not  over  2000  feet,  and  do  not  produce  the  effect  of  a  wet  side 
and  a  dry  side  to  the  island,  as  the  trades  sweep  it  from  end  to 
end  and  not  transversely.  To  give  an  idea  of  climatic  condi- 
tions, the  average  maximum  temperature  in  Habana  in  1914 
was  90  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  minimum  53  degrees  and  the 
mean  average  77  degrees.  The  total  rainfall  was  46.15  inches. 
Seventy-five  per  cent  of  the  rain  occurs  in  the  summer  months, 
between  the  first  of  May  and  the  first  of  October,  and  the  pre- 
cipitation is  greater  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  island  than  in 
the  western.  The  winters  are  comparatively  dry.  This  combina- 
tion of  dry  winters  and  wet  summers  is  extremely  favorable  to 
the  growing  and  harvesting  of  sugar  cane. 

The  low  plains  along  the  coast  are  of  coral  formation  and  the 
soil  overlying  the  coral  is  often  found  to  be  shallow.  The  rich- 
est and  most  productive  soil  is  that  of  the  uplands  some  dis- 
tance from  the  sea.  In  Cuba  the  soils  may  be  said  to  consist  of 
two  kinds — the  red  and  the  black.  The  red  is  generally  of  great 
depth,  from  30  to  50  feet,  and  rests  on  a  stratum  of  free  lime- 
stone. The  black  soil,  varying  in  color  from  a  mulatto  to  a 
"gumbo"  black,  overlies  a  clay  formation,  and  as  a  general  rule 
is  not  so  deep  as  the  red  soil.  Owing  to  the  fact  that  the  black 
soil  retains  such  a  large  percentage  of  water  during  the  ex- 
tremely rainy  period,  the  cost  of  cultivation  is  double  that  of 
working  the  red  soil. 

The  date  of  the  introduction  of  sugar  into  Cuba  is  uncertain. 
Different  authorities  place  it  anywhere  from  shortly  after  the 
discovery  of  the  island  in  1492  to  1580.  Von  Humboldt  is  silent 
on  the  point,  but  says  that  Cuba  did  not  participate  in  the  sugar 
industry  to  any  extent  in  the  sixteenth  century,  so  that  its  im- 


CUBA  203 

portance  in  that  respect  belongs  to  a  later  period.1  Up  to  1772 
sugar  cultivation  was  greatly  hampered  by  restrictions  of  the 
Spanish  government;  after  that  date  special  privileges  were 
canceled  and  the  right  to  grow  sugar  was  given  to  all  Span- 
iards. This  naturally  encouraged  production,  which  from  4390 
tons  in  1760  increased  to  14,000  tons  in  1790.  The  revolution 
which  destroyed  the  sugar  plantations  and  mills  of  Santo 
Domingo  in  1791  stimulated  the  development  in  Cuba  still  fur- 
ther. During  the  ten  years  that  followed,  the  number  of  mills 
increased  from  473  to  870,  and  by  1802  the  output  of  sugar 
reached  40,800  tons.  In  those  days  mills  were  very  small,  crude 
affairs  and  were  worked  by  oxen. 

Cuba,  in  common  with  all  sugar-raising  countries,  felt  the 
effects  of  the  European  wars  very  severely,  but  her  sugar 
trade  revived  after  the  overthrow  of  Napoleon  and  the  resump- 
tion of  commerce  through  normal  channels. 

With  increased  production  the  question  of  labor  became  a 
serious  one.  The  number  of  slaves  on  the  island  had  been  suf- 
ficient as  long  as  the  sugar  crop  was  limited,  but  with  expan- 
sion came  the  need  for  more  African  negroes,  so  in  1834  the 
governor,  Miguel  Tacon,  caused  many  new  slaves  to  be 
brought  in.  He  did  much  to  help  the  industry  in  other  direc- 
tions, particularly  by  suppressing  abuses,  and  under  his  ad- 

i  Prescott,  in  his  Conquest  of  Mexico,  (Vol.  I,  pp.  220  et  seq.},  gives  the  following  in 
connection  with  the  discovery  of  the  new  world  by  Columbus : 

"Of  the  islands,  Cuba  was  the  second  discovered ;  but  no  attempt  had  been  made  to 
plant  a  colony  there  during  the  life  of  Columbus,  who,  indeed,  after  skirting  the  whole 
extent  of  its  southern  coast,  died  in  the  conviction  that  it  was  part  of  the  continent 
At  length,  in  1511,  Diego,  the  son  and  successor  of  the  'Admiral/  who  still  maintained 
the  seat  of  government  in  Hispaniola,  finding  the  mines  much  exhausted  there,  pro- 
posed to  occupy  the  neighboring  island  of  Cuba,  or  Fernandina,  as  it  was  called  in  com- 
pliment to  the  Spanish  monarch.  He  prepared  a  small  force  for  the  conquest,  which  he 
placed  under  the  command  of  Don  Diego  Velasquez.  The  conquest  was  effected  without 
much  bloodshed.  After  the  conquest,  Velasquez,  now  appointed  governor,  diligently 
occupied  himself  with  measures  for  promoting  the  prosperity  of  the  island.  He  formed 
a  number  of  settlements  and  invited  settlers  by  liberal  grants  of  land  and  slaves.  He 
encouraged  them  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  gave  particular  attention  to  the  sugar  cane." 


204  HISTORICAL 

ministration  the  planters  enjoyed  prosperity  such  as  had  never 
been  known.  Fresh  lands  were  brought  under  cultivation  and 
the  shipping  ports  grew  in  importance  and  activity. 

While  figures  showing  the  annual  production  of  Cuba  were 
tabulated,  beginning  with  1850,  their  accuracy  was  open  to 
question  until  1882,  in  which  year  an  export  duty  was  imposed, 
and  the  records  kept  by  the  authorities  from  that  time  forward 
are  reasonably  correct.  Nevertheless,  it  is  known  beyond  any 
doubt  that  610,000  tons  were  produced  in  1870  from  1200  small 
mills. 

The  first  war  with  Spain  (1868-78)  and  the  abolition  of 
slavery  worked  havoc  with  the  industry.  All  children  born  of 
slaves  were  proclaimed  free  in  1872  and  slavery  was  entirely 
abolished  in  1880,  without  any  indemnification  to  the  slave 
owners.  Sugar  producers  found  freeman  labor  both  costly  and 
hard  to  obtain,  the  island  was  ravaged  by  fire  and  sword,  and 
in  the  markets  of  the  world  beet-root  sugar,  protected  by  boun- 
ties, was  proving  a  powerful  competitor.  These  were  dark  days 
for  the  planter. 

With  the  restoration  of  peace,  conditions  improved.  By  1890, 
470  mills  were  in  operation  and  their  production  in  that  year 
was  625,000  tons.  In  Cuba  a  change  in  methods  came  about, 
just  as  had  been  the  case  in  Louisiana;  the  cultivation  of  sugar 
was  gradually  dissociated  from  its  manufacture,  and  as  mills 
became  fewer  in  number,  plantings  increased.  The  manufac- 
turers leased  tracts  of  land  to  farmers,  from  whom  they  bought 
the  cane  raised  on  it.  Independent  planters,  too,  sold  their  cane 
to  the  central  mills,  and  the  plan  was  adopted  so  generally 
throughout  the  island  that  but  little  cane  was  grown  by  the 
owners  of  the  centrals.  During  this  period  of  peace  and  devel- 
opment, the  tonnage  mounted  steadily  upward  and  in  1894  it 
totaled  1,054,214  tons. 

The  following  year  saw  the  renewal  of  hostilities  with  Spain, 


CUBA  205 

which  dragged  along  with  brutality  and  devastation  until  May, 
1898,  when  the  United  States  declared  war  against  Spain  and 
finally  established  the  C&ban  republic.  The  period  of  this  sec- 
ond rebellion  against  Spain  was  marked  by  ruthless  destruc- 
tion of  property,  the  burning  of  mills  and  cane  in  the  fields,  and 
the  killing  of  the  cattle  that  were  used  for  transport  purposes. 
In  1897  the  output  of  sugar  had  shrunk  to  212,051  tons.  The 
work  of  reconstruction  after  the  expulsion  of  the  Spaniards 
was  slow,  involving  as  it  did  a  tremendous  amount  of  effort 
and  the  investment  of  a  great  deal  of  new  capital.  Manufac- 
turers who  were  unable  to  raise  money  to  rebuild  or  re-equip 
their  mills  turned  planters  and  grew  cane  for  the  nearest 
centrals.  Some,  more  fortunate,  succeeded  in  securing  the 
money  they  needed  and  restored  and  extended  their  property. 
Far  the  greatest  number,  however,  being  unable  to  command 
the  ready  cash  for  immediately  necessary  repairs,  incorporated 
or  sold  their  holdings  outright  to  newcomers.  The  many  small, 
old-fashioned  mills  have  given  way  to  a  limited  number  of 
large  plants,  or  centrals,  that  are  under  corporate  ownership 
and  governed  by  scientific  business  principles.  This  process  of 
consolidating  several  small  factories  into  one  big  one  is  con- 
stantly going  on,  and  in  addition  American  capital  and  enter- 
prise are  opening  up  new  lands  to  cultivation  in  many  parts  of 
the  island.  To  a  great  extent  the  old-time  planter  has  had  to 
make  room  for  the  corporation,  with  its  powerful  resources 
and  modern  methods,  and  while  the  individual  has  suffered  in 
many  instances,  the  industry  has  greatly  benefited. 

Cuban  plantations  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  the  in- 
genios  and  the  centrals.  The  ingenio  is  a  small  plantation  whose 
lands  lie  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  mill,  while  the  central,  in 
addition  to  its  own  cane,  handles  the  crops  of  a  number  of  in- 
genios.  The  ingenio  hauls  all  of  its  cane  to  the  factory  by  ox- 
carts; the  central  is  served  by  railroads,  both  privately  and 


206  HISTORICAL 

publicly  owned,  and  its  equipment  and  machinery  are  of  the 
most  modern  type. 

Approximately  90  per  cent  of  the  cane  grown  in  Cuba  comes 
from  what  are  termed  colonias,  i.  e.,  farms  varying  in  size  from 
a  few  acres  up  to  several  hundred. 

Colonos,  or  farmers,  may  be  classified  in  three  groups:  in  the 
first  is  the  man  with  his  small  estancia,  or  farm,  on  which  he 
raises  foodstuffs  and  cattle,  and  who  takes  his  few  hundred 
arrobas1  of  cane  to  the  central  when  the  price  is  good,  or  feeds 
it  to  his  animals  when  the  pasturage  is  short.  In  this  class,  too, 
is  the  man  who  has  a  hundred  or  two  hundred  caballerias2  of 
land,  but  whose  chief  interests  are  in  other  channels  and  whose 
operations  in  cane  growing  are  merely  an  adjunct  to  his  regu- 
lar business. 

In  the  second  group  is  the  independent  farmer,  who  owns 
his  land  and  cane  and  sells  his  crop  to  whom  he  pleases. 

The  third  and  most  numerous  group  comprises  those  who 
plant  cane  on  lands  belonging  to  the  central.  These  people 
either  pay  rent,  or  receive  a  certain  fixed  amount  for  their  cane, 
or  both.  Their  work  is  at  all  times  subject  to  inspection  by  the 
central  administration  and  under  such  circumstances  they  may 
be  likened  to  contractors  or  employes,  whose  compensation  is 
based  upon  the  success  of  their  own  efforts. 

The  average  size  of  a  colonia,  exclusive  of  those  owned  by 
colonos  of  the  first-mentioned  class,  who  are  independent  of 
cane  growing,  doubtless  depends  upon  what  would  afford  a 
man  a  decent  living  with  a  few  luxuries.  H.  C.  Prinsen  Geer- 
ligs,  in  his  book  "The  World's  Cane  Sugar  Industry/'  states 
that  one  hundred  arrobas  (2500  pounds)  of  cane  costs  the 
Cuban  farmer  $2.07  at  the  mill.  If  2l/2  cents  be  taken  as  an 
average  price  for  sugar  and  $900  per  annum  as  a  fair  living 
wage,  then  the  colono  who  gets  an  average  yield  of  50,000 

*  25.317  Ibs.— i  arroba.        *  A  caballeria  is  generally  taken  to  mean  33^3  acres. 


CUBA  207 

arrobas  per  caballeria  and  is  paid  for  it  at  the  rate  of  5  per  cent, 
receives  $1560  per  caballeria  for  cane  that  has  cost  him  $1035 
to  produce.  According  to  this  reasoning,  a  colonia  should  not 
be  less  than  1.75  caballerias  in  size,  but  of  course  this  is  purely 
speculative. 

The  farmer  who  owns  his  land  is  paid  about  six  per  cent1  of 
the  weight  of  the  cane  he  furnishes  in  centrifugal  sugar  of  96 
degrees,  sacked  and  ready  for  shipment,  and  occasionally  de- 
livered at  the  nearest  shipping  port.  Sometimes  settlement  is 
made  in  cash,  based  upon  the  value  of  the  agreed  percentage  of 
sugar  at  the  Habana  quotation  on  the  day  the  cane  is  delivered. 
In  other  words,  for  every  one  hundred  pounds  of  clean  cane  in 
bundles,  delivered  on  board  the  cars,  the  plantation  pays  the 
grower  about  six  per  cent  of  96-degree  centrifugal  sugar,  or  its 
equivalent  in  money.3 

Where  the  land  is  furnished  by  the  plantation,  the  farmer  is 
paid  from  four  to  five  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  cane  in 
sugar.  He  is  given  a  house  free  of  rent  and  an  acre  or  two  of 
garden  land  as  well.  All  material,  labor  or  stores  supplied  to 
him  are  debited  to  him  to  be  accounted  for  when  final  settle- 
ment is  effected. 

Planting  cane  in  Cuba  is  a  simple  matter.  In  preparing  virgin 
forest  land  for  seed,  no  ploughing  whatever  is  done ;  the  trees 
and  shrubs  are  cut  down  and  allowed  to  dry,  the  valuable  timber 
is  carried  away,  and  the  remainder  is  burned.  When  this  is  done 
the  land  is  found  to  be  smooth  and  level,  as  a  rule.  Planting 
consists  in  making  holes  in  the  ground  with  a  heavy  pole  shod 

*  See  Report  of  E.  E.  Paxton,  Honolulu,  T.  H.,  1905.  *  Extremely  high  prices  are 
paid  only  in  districts  where  the  number  of  sugar  mills  is  unusually  large  and  the  com- 
petition for  cane  consequently  very  keen.  For  example,  if  a  central  needed  200,000  tons 
of  cane  in  order  to  grind  at  full  capacity  during  the  season,  and  if  its  own  cane  and  that 
which  it  had  already  purchased  amounted  to  175,000  tons,  it  might  pay  an  excessive 
price  for  the  remaining  25,000  tons.  There  is,  however,  no  such  thing  as  uniformity  in 
the  contracts  made  with  colonos,  except  that  the  price  is  based  on  weight  and  not  on 
sugar  content. 


208  HISTORICAL 

with  iron  that  is  driven  obliquely  into  the  earth  at  regular  in- 
tervals, the  seed  is  then  dropped  in  these  holes  and  covered 
with  earth,  completing  the  operation.  Grassy  ground,  however, 
must  be  ploughed,  in  which  case  furrows  are  made  six  feet 
apart.  The  seed  cane  is  planted  in  them  at  intervals  of  from  six 
inches  to  twelve  inches,  covered  with  earth  and  left  to  grow. 
There  are  the  spring  plantings  and  the  autumn  plantings,  the 
first  from  April  to  June  and  the  second  in  October  and  Novem- 
ber, that  is  to  say,  one  at  the  beginning  and  one  at  the  end  of  the 
rainy  season.  In  the  case  of  the  former,  if  the  rains  come  soon 
after  planting,  the  cane  can  be  cut  in  the  following  March  or 
April,  /.  e.,  after  a  growing  period  from  nine  to  twelve  months. 
If,  however,  the  rains  are  late  the  cane  cannot  mature  before 
the  advent  of  the  new  rains  and  therefore  cannot  be  ground 
until  the  following  December.  Cane  planted  in  the  fall  ripens  in 
December  of  the  next  year  or  sometimes  a  month  later.1 

Notwithstanding  the  little  care  given  to  the  planting,  the 
cane  once  started  yields  a  generous  crop,  which  is  followed  by 
profitable  ratoon  crops  for  a  number  of  years  without  fertiliza- 
tion or  a  great  amount  of  tillage.  Finally,  when  through  age 
the  cane  ceases  to  produce  a  paying  crop  of  ratoons,  the  old 
roots  are  taken  up,2  and  the  same  soil  reseeded  brings  forth  ex- 
cellent results  for  another  period  of  years  without  any  rotation 
of  crops  being  necessary.  Not  more  than  ten  per  cent3  of  the 
total  area  of  Cuba  is  devoted  to  the  growing  of  cane.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  ground  on  which  cane  is  actually  planted,  large 
tracts  are  needed  as  pasture  for  draft  cattle.  Besides,  there  is 

1  A  well-known  authority  on  sugar  culture  states  that  ratoons  constitute  about  90  per 
cent  of  the  Cuban  crop,  and  that  it  takes  twelve  months  for  ratoons  to  ripen.  Primavera, 
or  cane  planted  in  the  spring,  is  cut  when  twelve  months  old,  and  cana  fria,  or  cane 
planted  in  the  fall,  is  cut  when  it  is  between  fourteen  and  eighteen  months  old.  The  in- 
dustry has  been  greatly  extended  during  1915  and  1916,  and  consequently  much  new 
planting  has  been  done.  These  plantings  will  be  ratooned  after  the  first  crop  is  taken  off. 

2  Geerligs,  p.  177.       3  On  December  16,  i9i4,Willett  &  Gray  gave  the  average  as  between 
2,250,000  and  2,500,000,  to  which  the  recent  new  plantings  must  be  added. 


CUBA  209 

much  forest  land  and  many  barren  spaces  that  are  undoubtedly 
included  in  the  acreage  classified  as  being  under  cane  cultiva- 
tion. According  to  Dr.  W.  D.  Home,1  the  average  yield  is  from 
fifteen  to  twenty  tons  of  cane  per  acre2  and  the  crops  are 
usually  allowed  to  ratoon  for  ten  years. 

In  Cuba,  cane  diseases  are  of  rare  occurrence,  but  in  dry 
years  swarms  of  mice  invade  the  fields  and  cause  great  damage 
by  gnawing  the  cane.  They  rapidly  disappear,  however,  as  soon 
as  the  wet  season  sets  in.  It  is  the  weather  that  brings  success 
or  failure  to  the  sugar  crop,  for  the  growth  of  the  cane  is  en- 
tirely dependent  upon  rainfall  and  a  long  period  of  drought  is 
extremely  hurtful.  Hurricanes  that  sweep  in  from  the  Carib- 
bean sea  work  havoc  in  the  plantations,  beating  the  cane  flat 
to  the  ground  or  uprooting  it  altogether,  which  results  in  heavy 
damage  both  to  the^  growing  crop  and  the  one  following  it. 

Harvesting  is  generally  begun  in  December  and  over  in  May, 
although  one  or  two  centrals  continue  in  operation  practically 
all  the  year  round.  Weather  conditions  determine  when  the 
grinding  starts  and  ends,  for,  as  a  rule,  the  cane  has  to  be 
hauled  from  the  fields  to  the  weighing  station  in  huge  carts 
drawn  by  oxen.  When  the  roads  are  dry,  three  pairs  of  oxen  can 
pull  a  load  of  7500  pounds  of  cane  with  ease,  but  as  soon  as  the 
heavy  rains  set  in  the  ground  quickly  softens,  the  roads  be- 
come impassable  and  the  movement  of  cane  by  carts  is  out  of 
the  question. 

The  cane  is  cut  close  to  the  ground  with  a  long,  heavy  knife, 
called  a  machete.  It  is  "topped,"  cut  into  two-  or  three-foot 
lengths,  tied  in  bundles  and  loaded  on  the  ox  carts  to  be  hauled 
to  the  scales  and  thence  by  rail  to  the  mill.  The  stumps  that  re- 
main in  the  ground  are  covered  over  with  dry  leaves  to  con- 

*  Journal,  Society  of  Chemical  Industry,  Vol.  XXV,  pp.  161  et  seq.  2  Prinsen  Geer- 
ligs  says  that  the  average  yield  is  50,000  arrobas  per  caballeria,  or  16.82  long  tons  per 
acre,  but  that  a  good  crop  gives  80,000  arrobas  (26.92  long  tons  per  acre)  and  sometimes 
100,000  arrobas  per  caballeria  (33.65  long  tons  per  acre)  or  even  more  are  obtained. 


210  HISTORICAL 

serve  the  moisture  in  them.  Nourished  by  occasional  showers, 
the  roots  quickly  sprout  and  a  year  afterward  a  crop  of  ra- 
toons  is  ripe  and  ready  to  be  harvested. 

Wages  in  Cuba  are  higher  than  in  most  important  cane-pro- 
ducing countries  in  the  tropics,  and  Dr.  V.  S.  Clark  quotes  a 
number  of  authorities  to  show  that  inefficiency  makes  Cuban 
labor  costs  in  most  lines  of  work  relatively  higher  than  in  the 
United  States  and  other  countries  on  the  American  continent, 
although  he  says  that  American  supervision  has  in  some  in- 
stances increased  efficiency  greatly.1  (Bureau  of  Labor,  Bull. 
[L.  of  C]  41,  pp.  712,  778.) 

Complete,  reliable  and  up-to-date  information  and  statistics 
concerning  Cuba's  sugar  industry  are  not  obtainable  at  the 
moment,  nevertheless  it  is  well  known  that  the  Cuban  planta- 
tions and  mills  that  are  operated  by  modern  scientific  methods 
can  produce  sugar  at  lower  costs  than  Germany  or  any  of  the 
beet-raising  countries,  while  as  regards  cane-growing  coun- 
tries, Java  is  the  only  possible  rival.  And  yet,  despite  the  opti- 
mistic views  of  Cuba's  supporters,  the  fact  remains  that  the 
full  development  of  her  resources  is  still  a  matter  of  uncer- 
tainty, though  the  possibilities  for  expansion  are  enormous, 
provided  that  certain  obstacles,  notably  the  labor  problem,  can 
be  overcome.  At  the  present  time  it  is  doubtful  whether  the 
production  of  sugar  could  be  largely  increased,  chiefly  be- 
cause of  the  growing  difficulty  of  securing  adequate  help  in  the 
fields. 

During  the  season  ending  midsummer,  1915,  Cuba's  output 
of  sugar  was  2,592,667  long  tons,  the  largest  crop  raised  in  any 
country  in  the  world,  and  the  vast  amount  of  cane  from  which 
it  was  manufactured  was  ground  by  176  central  factories.  It 
is  estimated  that  the  production  for  1916  will  reach  3,000,000 
tons. 

*  The  United  States  Beet  Sugar  Industry  and  the  Tariff.  Blakey,  p.  179. 


CUBA  211 

When  it  comes  to  the  marketing  of  her  sugar  the  United 
States  is  Cuba's  best  customer,  only  a  comparatively  small 
amount  being  taken  by  Europe.1  The  2O-per-cent  preferential 
allowed  on  Cuban  sugar  duty  under  the  reciprocity  treaty, 
however,  does  not  always  go  to  the  Cuban  manufacturer.  The 
real  beneficiary  is  the  consumer  in  the  United  States,  for  this 
reason:  when  the  grinding  of  the  Cuban  crop  is  in  full  swing, 
the  weekly  production  of  raw  sugar  is  approximately  150,000 
tons,  which  speedily  exhausts  the  available  storage  capacity  of 
the  island,  so  that  movement  of  the  sugar  is  imperative;  besides 
this,  the  natural  anxiety  of  the  planter  to  realize  in  order  to 
meet  his  current  expenses  causes  a  strong  pressure  to  sell.  It 
becomes  with  him  a  question  of  whether  he  can  net  better 
figures  in  New  York  or  the  United  Kingdom,  and  owing  to 
difference  in  port  charges  and  dispatch,  the  New  York  results 
are  generally  more  satisfactory,  even  with  the  concession  of  a 
part,  or  at  times  all  of,  or  even  more  than,  the  2O-per-cent  pref- 
erential. Inversely,  it  follows  that  when  raw  sugars  are  in  keen 
demand,  the  planter  pursues  his  advantage  to  the  limit. 

The  total  production  of  sugar  in  Cuba  from  1850  to  the  pres- 
ent year  is  as  follows,  but  the  figures  prior  to  1882  are  not  en- 
tirely dependable,  as  has  been  previously  explained : 

YEAR  TONS  YEAR  TONS 

1850  223,145  1857  355,ooo 

1851  263,999  1858  385,000 

1852  251,609  1859  536,000 

1853  322,000  1860  447,000 

1854  374,ooo  1861  446,000 
J8SS  392,ooo  1862  525,000 
1856  34^,000  1863  507,000 

i  This  is  not  true  of  the  years  1915  and  1916,  when  on  account  of  the  war  Great  Britain, 
France  and  other  European  countries  have  been  compelled  to  draw  large  quantities  of 
sugar  from  Cuba  and  the  United  States. 


212 


HISTORICAL 


YEAR 

TONS 

YEAR 

TONS 

1864 

575>ooo 

1890 

632,368 

I86S 

620,000 

1891 

816,980 

1866 

612,000 

1892 

976,OOO 

1867 

597,000 

1893 

815,894 

1868 

749,000' 

1894 

1,054,214 

1869 

726,000' 

1895 

1,004,264 

iS/O 

726,000' 

1896 

225,22I3 

1871 

547,000'* 

1897 

2I2,O5I3 

1872 

690,000' 

1898 

305,5433 

1873 

775,000' 

I899 

335,668 

1874 

681,000' 

1900 

283,65  14 

1875 

718,000' 

I9OI 

612,775 

1876 

590,000' 

I9O2 

863,792 

1877 

520,000' 

1903 

1,003,873 

1878 

533,ooo' 

1904 

1,052,273 

1879 

670,000 

1905 

1,183,347 

1880 

530,000 

1906 

1,229,736 

1881 

493,000 

1907 

i,444,3ios 

1882 

595.000 

1908 

969,2756 

1883 

460,327* 

1909 

1,521,818 

1884 

558,932 

I9IO 

1,804,349 

1885 

631,000 

I9II 

1,483,451 

1886 

731,723 

1912 

1,895,984 

1887 

646,578 

1913 

2,428,537 

1888 

656,719 

1914 

2,597,732 

1889 

56o,333 

1915 

2,592,667 

1916 

3,ooo,ooo7 

**  Hurricane. 

1  Ten  years'  war. 

Internal  disturbances. 

8  Rebellior 

Spain.  Spanish-  American  war.         4  Great 

drought.       5  Particularly  favorable  - 

6  Great  drought. 

7  Estimated. 

JAMAICA 

JAMAICA  lies  80  miles  south  of  the  eastern  end  of  Cuba,  be- 
tween 17  degrees  43  minutes  and  18  degrees  32  minutes 
north  latitude  and  76  degrees  10  minutes  and  78  degrees  20 
minutes  west  longitude.  It  is  144  miles  long  and  50  miles  across 
at  its  widest  part,  with  a  total  area  of  4207  square  miles. 

The  island  is  traversed  from  east  to  west  by  a  mountain 
range  from  which  a  number  of  spurs  run  out  to  the  northwest 
or  southeast.  This  range  is  more  sharply  defined  in  the  eastern 
end,  where  the  highest  point  is  Blue  Mountain  Peak,  7360  feet 
above  sea-level.  The  mountains  gradually  slope  westward 
down  to  the  hills  of  the  western  plateau,  which  is  of  limestone 
formation  and  comprises  two-thirds  of  the  island's  surface.  As 
a  rule  the  highlands  terminate  abruptly  in  steep  bluffs,  a  strip 
of  level  land  lying  between  them  and  the  sea.  On  the  south 
coast  there  are  extensive  plains.  Fully  one  hundred  rivers  and 
streams  empty  themselves  into  the  Caribbean,  but  the  greater 
number  of  them  are  not  navigable  and  in  flood  time  they  be- 
come raging  torrents.  In  1911  the  population,  of  whom  only 
2  per  cent  are  white,  was  estimated  at  831,123.  It  is  made  up  of 
Maroons,  descendants  of  the  slaves  of  the  Spanish;  descend- 
ants of  African  negro  slaves;  a  mixture  of  British  and  negro; 
laborers  from  India;  a  sprinkling  of  Chinese,  and  the  white 
settlers. 

On  the  coast  the  climate  is  hot  and  humid,  but  at  the  higher 
elevations  it  is  mild  and  delightful.  The  temperature  at  Kings- 
ton and  the  low  sea-level  region  generally  ranges  between  70.7 
degrees  and  87.8  degrees  Fahrenheit.  At  Cinchona,  which  is 
4907  feet  high,  it  runs  from  57.5  degrees  to  68.5  degrees.  With 


214  HISTORICAL 

rare  exceptions,  rain  falls  during  every  month  in  the  year,  and 
there  are  two  wet  seasons,  each  of  about  three  weeks  duration, 
one  in  May  and  one  in  October.  The  amount  varies  consider- 
ably; the  yearly  average  for  Kingston  is  32.6  inches,  for  Cin- 
chona 105.5  inches  and  for  the  entire  island  66.3  inches.  Hurri- 
canes, which  were  of  frequent  occurrence  during  the  early  part 
of  last  century,  have  not  visited  the  island  so  often  of  late  years. 
Earthquakes  take  place  from  time  to  time,  that  of  1907  having 
been  particularly  violent  and  destructive. 

Transportation  facilities  are  excellent,  the  roads  are  good 
and  a  railway  180  miles  long  connects  Port  Antonio,  Kingston 
and  Montego  bay. 

Jamaica  was  discovered  by  Columbus  on  May  3,  1494,  and 
was  called  Santiago  by  him,  but  this  never  supplanted  the  orig- 
inal Indian  name  Jaymaca,  "the  island  of  springs,"  modified 
into  its  present  form,  Jamaica.  Columbus  put  in  at  the  island 
for  shelter  in  1505,  and  four  years  later  his  son  Diego  sent  out 
Don  Juan  d'Esquivel  to  take  possession  of  it  in  the  name  of  the 
Spanish  crown.  Sant'  lago  de  la  Vega,  now  Spanish  Town, 
founded  in  1523,  was  destroyed  by  the  British  in  1596  and  was 
rebuilt  after  their  departure.  The  British  raided  the  island 
again  in  1635,  and  twenty  years  later  they  occupied  it  per- 
manently, expelling  the  Spaniards  entirely  by  1658.  During  the 
three  years  that  followed,  Jamaica  was  under  military  rule  and 
then  a  constitution  modeled  upon  that  of  the  mother  country 
was  established. 

About  this  time  the  island  became  a  rendezvous  for  the  buc- 
caneers. These  gentry  quite  often  combined  the  roles  of  mer- 
chants or  planters  and  pirates  or  sea-rovers.  In  1670  the  treaty 
of  Madrid  confirmed  the  British  in  their  possession  of  the 
island  and  the  buccaneers  were  suppressed.  Jamaica  then  be- 
came a  great  slave  market,  and  the  growing  of  sugar  cane  and 
the  manufacture  of  sugar  on  an  extensive  scale  were  begun. 


JAMAICA  215 

Civil  disturbances  retarded  the  progress  of  the  colony  until 
1728.  The  town  of  Port  Royal  was  destroyed  by  a  great  earth- 
quake in  1692,  while  in  1712  and  1722  hurricanes  of  extreme 
violence  carried  destruction  throughout  the  island. 

When  the  Dutch  were  driven  from  Brazil  by  the  Portuguese 
in  1655  many  of  them  settled  in  Jamaica,  Barbados  and  other 
West  Indian  islands.  They  brought  their  slaves  with  them,  and, 
besides,  they  had  a  good  knowledge  of  sugar  and  the  necessary 
capital,  so  that  the  industry  entered  a  new  phase  of  develop- 
ment after  their  arrival.  The  keenest  competitors  of  the  British 
islands  were  the  French  sugar  producers  of  Saint  Dominique, 
Guadeloupe  and  Martinique,  as  they  were  more  skilled  in 
manufacturing  methods  and  made  sugar  at  a  lower  cost.  A 
heavy  export  tax  affected  the  sugar  trade  of  Jamaica  and  her 
sister  colonies  adversely.  The  refining  of  sugar  was  prohibited 
and  heavy  import  duties  placed  upon  sugar  and  syrup  entering 
British  North  American  possessions  closed  that  market  to  the 
Jamaican  product.  Notwithstanding-  these  drawbacks  the  in- 
dustry continued  to  grow  and  in  1791  the  destruction  of  the 
plantations  of  Saint  Dominique  removed  a  formidable  rival. 

Since  the  passage  of  the  emancipation  act  in  1834  and  the 
granting  of  £  16,500,000  as  partial  indemnity  to  the  planters 
for  the  loss  of  their  slaves,  there  has  been  persistent  agitation 
by  the  planters,  both  in  Parliament  and  outside  of  it.  It  became 
very  loud  when  the  protection  afforded  West  Indian  sugars 
as  against  sugars  raised  in  slave-owning  countries  was  les- 
sened and  finally  withdrawn.  It  subsided  somewhat  with  the 
abolition  of  slavery  in  the  colonies  of  other  European  nations, 
and  it  was  renewed  with  added  vigor  when  the  competition  of 
bounty-nourished  beet-root  sugar  manufactured  on  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe  made  itself  felt.  As  has  been  shown,  bounties 
and  cartels  enabled  the  European  beet-sugar  manufacturers  to 
sell  their  product  in  foreign  markets  below  actual  cost,  while 


2l6  HISTORICAL 

realizing  a  handsome  profit  in  the  quantity  sold  for  home  con- 
sumption. Jamaica  and  the  other  cane-producing  colonies  which 
had  no  domestic  trade  to  fall  back  upon  found  themselves  in  a 
grievous  plight. 

By  !895  matters  had  reached  such  a  pass  that  a  royal  com- 
mission was  appointed  to  make  a  thorough  investigation  of 
conditions  and  report  to  the  home  government.  The  main  fea- 
tures of  the  remedial  measures  adopted  as  a  result  of  the  work 
of  this  body  were : 

First:  The  establishing  of  the  farmers  as  owners  of  land, 
that  is  to  say,  parcels  of  land  were  sold  to  small  farmers,  who 
were  assisted  by  money  advances  in  the  cultivation  of  their 
crops,  with  the  understanding  that  they  were  to  grow  cane  at 
their  own  risk  and  sell  it  to  the  mills. 

Second :  Planters  were  encouraged  to  raise  crops  other  than 
sugar. 

Third:  Agricultural  experiment  stations  were  built  and 
equipped  in  Barbados,  Trinidad  and  Jamaica  with  sub-stations 
in  a  number  of  the  smaller  islands. 

Fourth:  A  direct  steamship  service  to  Canada  was  estab- 
lished. The  service  between  Jamaica  and  England  was  im- 
proved and  regular  steamer  communication  between  the  islands 
was  provided. 

It  wras  stipulated  that  the  cost  of  building  and  maintaining 
the  experiment  stations  was  to  be  borne  by  the  home  govern- 
ment until  the  results  obtained  justified  their  being  supported 
by  the  colonies.  In  addition,  a  grant  of  money  was  authorized 
by  Parliament  to  take  care  of  the  pressing  needs  of  the  planters 
during  the  year  before  the  Brussels  convention  became  ef- 
fective. 

With  improved  steamship  facilities  between  Jamaica  and 
the  mother  country,  the  volume  of  the  trade  in  fresh  fruit  was 
greatly  increased. 


JAMAICA  217 

In  1907  the  value  of  the  fruit  shipments  in  pounds  sterling 
was  as  follows : 

Bananas  £842,689 

Citrus  fruits  90,468 

as  against 

Sugar  122,328 

Rum  98,923 

On  January  14,  1907,  an  appalling  earthquake  occurred.  The 
buildings  in  Kingston  and  Port  Royal  were  destroyed  or  badly 
damaged  and  about  one  thousand  people  were  killed. 

In  1906  the  area  under  cultivation  in  Jamaica  was  750,000 
acres  and  of  this  only  26,000  were  devoted  to  cane.  Sugar  plant- 
ing has  been  in  a  stagnant  condition  for  years  and  only  a 
limited  number  of  the  estates  that  still  carry  on  the  industry 
are  making  money.  Many  have  stopped  growing  cane  entirely 
and  have  turned  to  bananas,  cocoanuts,  coffee  or  cattle  raising. 
In  certain  districts  there  is  plenty  of  fertile  alluvial  land,  ample 
water  and  cheap  labor,  but  proper  cultivation  is  lacking,  so  that 
the  results  are  far  from  what  they  should  be.  Planting  simply 
consists  of  sticking  a  piece  of  cane  stalk  in  a  hole  in  the  ground 
and  very  little  ploughing  is  done,  consequently  the  weeds  are 
never  under  control.  It  takes  about  twelve  months  for  the  cane 
to  ripen  and  the  yield  per  acre  varies  widely,  ranging  from  ten 
to  forty-five  tons.  The  average  may  be  taken  as  about  twenty 
tons  per  acre. 

The  island  boasts  of  three  central  factories  and  eighty-two 
small  mills,  only  twelve  of  the  latter  having  vacuum  pans.  The 
others  make  muscavado  sugar  and  rum.  In  the  operation  of 
boiling  by  no  means  all  of  the  sugar  is  extracted,  as  a  pure 
liquor  is  needed  for  the  manufacture  of  good  rum  and  quite  a 
large  amount  of  cane  juice  is  made  into  rum  direct. 

In  the  process  of  making  muscavado  sugar  in  Jamaica,  the 
cane  juice  after  being  brought  to  boiling  point  in  an  open  kettle 


2l8  HISTORICAL 

is  transferred  into  a  second  kettle,  where  it  is  treated  and  the 
heavy  impurities  allowed  to  settle.  The  clear  juice  then  goes 
into  copper  walls,  a  series  of  three  or  more  large  open  copper 
pans,  called  teaches.  These  pans  rest  above  an  open  fire  fed  by 
bagasse,  cane  trash  and  wood.  After  the  juice  has  been  boiled  to 
a  certain  density  in  the  first  pan  it  is  transferred  to  the  second 
and  the  final  concentration  takes  place  in  the  third  or  fourth, 
as  the  case  may  be.  In  some  mills  the  last  boiling  is  done  with 
steam  in  what  is  called  an  Aspinall  pan,  instead  of  over  an  open 
fire.  When  the  mass  becomes  sufficiently  thick,  it  is  put  into 
large  tanks  and  left  to  crystallize.  Sometimes  it  is  kept  in 
motion  during  crystallization,  but  usually  no  stirring  whatever 
is  done.  Crystallization  completed,  the  mass  is  packed  in  hogs- 
heads with  perforated  bottoms.  These  hogsheads  are  allowed 
to  stand  over  drainage  troughs  for  two  or  three  weeks  so  that 
the  molasses  may  run  off.  The  holes  are  then  plugged  up  and 
the  sugar  is  ready  to  be  shipped. 

The  percentage  of  sugar,  glucose  and  water  in  Jamaica  mus- 
cavados  is  approximately: 

No.  i  Sucrose  88.6  Glucose  5.30  Water  3.42 

2  86.2  4.40  3.72 

3  83.9  5.92  4.66 

4  83.0  6.98  3.84 

Management  is  slipshod  and  the  extraction  is  poor.  It  takes 
fifteen  tons  of  cane  and  sometimes  more  to  produce  a  ton  of 
sugar. 

As  for  the  future  of  the  sugar  industry  in  Jamaica,  much  in 
the  way  of  improvement  could  be  done  by  the  introduction  of 
systematic  management,  proper  cultivation,  adequate  fertili- 
zation and  scientific  methods  of  manufacture.  Labor  is  plenti- 
ful and  cheap,  and  it  would  seem  that  sugar  could  be  produced 


JAMAICA 


219 


in  Jamaica  at  as  low  cost  as  in  Cuba.  Thus  far,  however,  there 
have  been  no  signs  of  a  real  awakening. 

As  regards  production,  the  following  figures  are  taken  from 
Willett&Gray: 


1903-04  crop 
1904-05     " 
1905-06     " 
1906-07  exports 
1907-08       " 
1908-09       " 

1  Estimated. 


14,255  tons 
16,000  " 
18,000  " 

13,971  " 
10,718  " 

11,453     " 
1915-16  exports 


1909-10  exports 
1910-11       " 
1911-12       " 
1912-13 
1913-14 
1914-15 
15,000' tons 


12,000  tons 
19,960    " 

21,835     " 
8,728    " 

15,583     " 
15,063     " 


BARBADOS 

BARBADOS,  the  most  easterly  of  the  Windward  islands, 
lies  seventy-eight  miles  east  of  St.  Vincent  in  13  degrees 
4  minutes  north  latitude  and  59  degrees  37  minutes  west 
longitude.  It  is  twenty-one  miles  long,  fourteen  and  one-half 
miles  at  its  greatest  breadth  and  its  area  is  166  square  miles.  It 
is  of  coral  origin  and  at  certain  points  the  coral  reefs  extend 
out  to  sea  as  far  as  three  miles  and  are  a  menace  to  navigation. 
The  island  is  low  and  flat,  except  in  the  central  and  northeast- 
ern part.  Mount  Hillaby,  the  highest  peak,  rises  1148  feet  above 
sea-level  and  from  it  the  land  slopes  in  terraces  in  every  direc- 
tion. Carlisle  bay  on  the  southwest  is  a  natural  harbor,  but  only 
available  for  vessels  of  light  draft.  Barbados  is  densely  popu- 
lated. In  1906  the  number  of  inhabitants  was  196,287,  of  whom 
by  far  the  greater  number  were  negroes,  who,  in  proportion  to 
the  whites,  are  as  nine  to  one. 

The  climate  is  agreeable,  with  well-defined  wet  and  dry  sea- 
sons, and  for  eight  months  in  the  year  the  heat  is  modified  by 
the  northeast  trade  winds.  The  dry,  or  cold,  period  is  from  De- 
cember to  May.  The  temperature  ranges  from  70  degrees  to  86 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  seldom  falling  below  65.  There  is  a  plenti- 
ful rainfall,  the  annual  average  being  sixty  inches,  and  Septem- 
ber is  the  wettest  month.  Moisture  readily  penetrates  the  coral 
subsoil  and  collects  in  subterranean  reservoirs.  Porous  soil, 
thorough  cultivation  and  the  absence  of  swamps  give  miasma 
no  opportunity  and  fever  is  unknown,  but  hurricanes  are  the 
scourge  of  the  colony.  The  soil  is  thin,  but  extremely  fertile, 
and  there  is  a  theory  that  it  was  originally  formed  of  volcanic 
ash,  carried  by  the  winds  from  St.  Vincent  during  times  when 
La  Soufriere  was  in  eruption. 


BARBADOS  221 

It  is  said  that  the  Portuguese  were  the  first  Europeans  to 
visit  the  island;  be  this  as  it  may,  they  never  took  possession  of 
it.  A  British  ship  touched  there  in  1605,  and,  finding  no  inhabi- 
tants, annexed  it  in  the  name  of  King  James  I.  Since  that  time 
British  ownership  has  continued  without  interruption.  An  ac- 
tual settlement  was  established  in  1625,  in  which  year  the  king 
made  a  grant  of  the  island  to  Lord  Leigh,  afterward  the  Earl 
of  Marlborough.  Bridgetown,  the  present  capital,  was  founded 
in  1628. 

Barbados  was  the  first  of  Great  Britain's  island  colonies  to 
grow  sugar  cane.  The  plant  was  brought  there  in  1642  during 
Philip  Bell's  governorship,  and  slaves  were  imported  at  the 
same  time.  A  number  of  Dutch  who  were  expelled  from  Brazil 
in  1655  took  refuge  in  the  island,  and  their  knowledge  of  sugar 
and  experience  in  its  manufacture  did  much  to  stimulate  the  in- 
dustry. Beginning  with  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
Barbados  became  an  important  sugar-producing  center. 

Following  emancipation  in  1834,  the  Barbados  planters  re- 
ceived £  1,720,000  to  indemnify  them  for  the  loss  of  over  83,000 
slaves.  At  the  same  time  a  large  number  of  the  freed  blacks  con- 
tinued to  work  on  the  sugar  plantations  as  before,  but  under 
pay;  hence  abolition  did  not  bring  on  the  same  hardships  in 
Barbados  as  it  did  in  some  of  the  other  West  Indian  colonies. 

Labor  is  plentiful  and  cheap,  so  that  cultivation  is  done  care- 
fully and  in  a  thorough  manner.  The  naturally  rich  soil  is 
treated  with  fertilizers  of  various  kinds,  and  planting  is  done 
every  year  as  a  rule,  although  ratoon  crops  are  often  raised  on 
the  uplands.  Formerly  Bourbon  cane  was  grown  exclusively, 
but  owing  to  the  falling  off  in  the  yield,  it  was  discontinued 
and  the  varieties  now  in  favor  are  White  Transparent  and  seed- 
ling canes  raised  locally.  The  crops  suffer  from  time  to  time 
through  hurricanes  and  droughts,  as  well  as  from  the  common 
run  of  cane  diseases.  Of  the  entire  area  of  106,470  acres,  about 


222  HISTORICAL 

100,000  acres  are  cultivated ;  between  60,000  and  70,000  acres  of 
this  are  in  sugar  cane. 

In  1902  there  were  440  estates  on  the  island,  the  average  area 
being  168  acres.  Of  these,  23  exceeded  500  acres  and  139  con- 
tained less  than  100  acres;  19,  comprising  6707  acres,  were 
owned  by  corporations.  Each  estate  had  its  own  mill,  and  432 
of  them  made  muscavado  and  eight  of  them  centrifugal  sugar. 
Today  the  number  of  factories  is  estimated  at  335,  of  which  221 
are  driven  by  windmills.  A  few  plants  are  equipped  with  vac- 
uum pans  and  modern  machinery,  but  muscavado  sugar  and 
molasses  still  represent  nearly  all  of  the  production.  The  mo- 
lasses obtained  in  the  open-kettle  process  has  a  higher  value 
and  finds  a  much  readier  sale  than  that  resulting  from  boiling  in 
vacuum  pans.  Therefore  in  making  comparisons  between  the 
yield  in  sugar  from  the  open-kettle  process  with  that  from  the 
vacuum-pan  method,  the  increased  price  brought  by  the  rich- 
flavored  molasses  made  in  the  old-fashioned  way  must  be  taken 
into  account. 

On  an  average,  the  sugar  content  of  the  cane  is  13.5  per  cent 
and  the  recovery  is  about  7.5  per  cent  muscavado  sugar  and  3.5 
per  cent  molasses.  It  is  evident  that  imperfect  crushing  and 
crude  manufacturing  methods  cause  a  considerable  loss  in 
sugar  on  most  of  the  estates. 

In  1898  the  Imperial  Department  of  Agriculture  established 
its  chief  West  Indian  station  in  Barbados.  This  station  has  ren- 
dered great  service  to  the  planters  in  improving  cane  varieties, 
giving  expert  advice  concerning  fertilizing  and  fighting  cane 
pests. 

Undoubtedly  much  could  still  be  done  to  better  conditions, 
but  the  small  estates  are  generally  mortgaged  and  their  owners 
are  in  no  position  to  borrow  more  money  to  enable  them  to 
operate  on  a  more  extended  scale.  On  the  other  hand,  they  are 
extremely  tenacious  of  their  holdings  and  will  not  part  with 


BARBADOS  223 

them  to  capitalists  who  might  establish  large  central  factories. 
It  therefore  seems  altogether  improbable  that  there  will  be  any 
expansion  in  the  sugar  industry  of  the  colony  in  the  near  future. 
The  production  of  Barbados  during  the  last  twenty  years  in 
long  tons  has  been  as  follows : 

1895  33,33!  J9o6  50*630 

1896  45,170  1907  33,033 

1897  51,275  1908  31,353 

1898  46,878  1909  15,571 

1899  40,442  I9jo  36,389 

1900  44,250  1911  32,5H 

1901  56,912  1912  exports  30,548 

1902  45,576  1913  u,479 

1903  33,795  I9H  33,387 

1904  55,785  1915  32,578 

1905  41,210  1916  50,000' 

i  Estimated. 


TRINIDAD 

TRINIDAD  lies  six  miles  off  the  northeastern  coast  oi 
Venezuela,  between  10  degrees  3  minutes  and  10  degrees 
50  minutes  north  latitude  and  60  degrees  39  minutes  and 
62  degrees  west  longitude.  Its  average  length  is  forty-eight 
miles,  it  is  thirty-five  miles  in  width  and  has  an  area  of  1754 
square  miles.  It  is  the  largest  of  the  British  West  Indian 
islands,  with  the  exception  of  Jamaica,  and  the  population  in 
1914  was  estimated  to  be  255,148,  one-third  of  whom  were  East 
Indians. 

The  surface  is  level  or  rolling,  with  a  mountain  range  in  the 
north,  which  rises  to  3100  feet  at  its  highest  point,  Tucuche 
Peak.  In  the  south  there  is  a  ridge  of  hills  about  600  feet  high 
and  in  the  central  part  an  upland  belt  runs  from  east  to  west  by 
south.  There  are  a  number  of  small  rivers,  none  of  them  navi- 
gable. 

The  island  enjoys  an  equable  climate,  the  temperature  vary- 
ing from  70  degrees  to  87  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  mean  being 
78.6  degrees.  The  seasons  are  regular,  rainy  from  May  to  Janu- 
ary, with  a  four  weeks'  interval  of  fine  weather  in  October,  anc 
dry  from  the  end  of  January  until  May.  The  average  rainfall  is 
66.26  inches,  but  in  the  cane-growing  region  it  is  about  8c 
inches.  Hurricanes,  earthquakes  and  long  spells  of  drought  an 
unknown. 

Christopher  Columbus  discovered  Trinidad  in  1496  and  the 
Spaniards  occupied  it  ninety  years  later.  It  remained  in  theii 
hands  until  1797,  when  it  was  taken  by  the  British,  to  whom  il 
was  formally  ceded  in  1802. 

As  was  the  case  in  other  West  Indian  islands,  the  aborigines 


TRINIDAD  225 

were  quickly  exterminated  by  the  Spanish  conquerors  and  their 
places  filled  with  negro  slaves.  A  number  of  French  and  Creole 
settlers  came  to  Trinidad  in  1780,  and  about  the  middle  of  the 
following  century  Portuguese  refugees  from  Madeira  joined 
the  colony.  After  the  abolition  of  slavery  by  Great  Britain  in 
1834,  many  Hindus  were  brought  in  under  contract. 

The  soil  of  the  island  is  very  rich  and  well  adapted  to  the 
growing  of  sugar  cane  and  other  tropical  products.  The  sugar 
plantations  are  found  in  the  level  country  bordering  on  the  Gulf 
of  Paria,  where  the  soil  is  a  dark  clay,  and  which  has  been  de- 
scribed as  one  of  the  finest  stretches  of  sugar  land  in  the  West 
Indies. 

As  a  result  of  the  financial  distress  of  1895,  which  caused  the 
home  government  to  pass  relief  measures,  a  number  of  planta- 
tion owners  were  compelled  to  dispose  of  a  portion  of  their  land 
to  farmers,  who  grew  cane  upon  it  and  sold  the  crop  to  the 
sugar  factories.  It  is  estimated  that  today  about  twenty-five 
per  cent  of  the  cane  worked  up  by  the  factories  is  furnished  by 
these  small  growers,  the  remainder  being  raised  by  the  owners 
of  the  estates.  Grinding  begins  in  January  and  is  finished  in 
May  or  June. 

Trinidad  has  its  own  agricultural  station,  which  is  chiefly 
devoted  to  the  study  of  sugar-cane  culture.  It  has  been  of  great 
service  to  the  industry  in  determining  the  kinds  of  cane  that 
can  be  most  profitably  grown,  in  fighting  cane  diseases  and 
pests  and  in  working  out  fertilization  problems. 

From  1855  to  1887  an  average  crop  of  59,774  tons  was  turned 
out  by  ninety  estates.  Of  this  total,  28,500  tons  were  vacuum- 
pan  sugar  and  the  rest  muscavado.  In  1896,  62,975  tons  of 
sugar  were  made  by  thirty-nine  estates.  Seven  of  these  made 
2000  tons  of  common  muscavado,  six  made  5500  tons  of 
centrifugal  muscavado,  and  the  remaining  twenty-six  made 
vacuum-pan  sugar.  A  report  made  in  that  year  concerning 


226  HISTORICAL 

sugar  estates  in  Trinidad  sets  forth  that  advantage  has  been 
taken  of  the  most  modern  improvements  in  boilers,  furnaces, 
multiple  evaporators,  crushing  mills  and  other  machinery. 
Trinidad  produces  a  large  amount  of  what  are  known  as  "yel- 
low crystals,"  which  are  sold  in  the  British  market  for  direct 
consumption  and  command  a  premium  over  the  ordinary  raw 
sugar. 

Statistics  compiled  in  1909  show  that  the  colony  then  had 
sixteen  sugar  factories,  which  turned  out  52,972  tons  of  sugar, 
and  the  recovery  represented  8.74  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the 
cane;  451,801  tons  of  this  cane  were  grown  by  the  estates  and 
154,663  tons  by  the  small  farmers.  There  were  11,401  of  the 
latter,  6077  of  whom  were  East  Indians  and  5324  West  Indians. 
Trinidad  is  the  only  West  Indian  colony  where  the  attempt  to 
fill  the  places  of  negro  laborers  with  coolies  from  India  has  been 
successful.  The  production  of  sugar  since  1900  has  been  as  fol- 
lows: 

1900  41,269  tons  1908  48,933  tons 

1901  51,077  "  1909  52,972     " 

1902  44,9J3  I910  exports  44,*39 

1903  46,029  1911  37,282 

1904  50,744  1912  32,557 

1905  38,240  1913  31,665 

1906  62,975  1914  47,251 

1907  50,564  1915  49,107 

1916  exports  55,000' tons 

i  Estimated. 


SANTO  DOMINGO 

HAITI  is  divided  into  two  unequal  parts,  the  republic 
of    Haiti    (Republique    d'Haiti),    comprising    10,204 
square  miles,  and  the   republic  of  Santo   Domingo 
(Republica  Dominicana),  with  an  area  of  19,325  square  miles. 
It  is  one  of  the  four  large  islands  of  the  West  Indies  and  lies 
between  17  degrees  37  minutes  and  20  degrees  north  latitude 
and  68  degrees  20  minutes  and  74  degrees  28  minutes  west 
longitude.  Its  length  from  east  to  west  is  about  407  miles 
and  its  greatest  width  is  160  miles.  The  total  population  is 

2,737,700- 

The  surface  of  the  island  is  exceedingly  mountainous,  three 
distinct  ranges  traversing  it  from  east  to  west.  The  loftiest 
peak,  Loma  Tina,  near  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo,  reaches  a 
height  of  10,300  feet.  The  extensive  intervening  valleys  are  fer- 
tile and  watered  by  numerous  rivers,  none  of  which,  however, 
are  deep  enough  to  be  navigable. 

The  climate  is  hot  and  humid.  An  average  temperature  for 
the  month  of  January  would  be  about  75.4  degrees  Fahrenheit, 
for  July  84  degrees,  and  for  the  year  79.2  degrees.  There  are 
no  active  volcanoes,  but  great  damage  is  done  from  time  to 
time  by  earthquakes  and  hurricanes.  The  yearly  rainfall  is 
abundant,  averaging  about  120  inches.  In  San  Pedro  de  Ma- 
coris,  however,  where  the  greater  part  of  the  sugar  crop  of  the 
island  is  grown,  the  annual  precipitation  is  in  the  neighborhood 
of  60  inches.  As  this  is  not  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  the  grow- 
ing cane,  the  planters  have  to  do  a  certain  amount  of  irrigating, 
and  the  water  for  this  purpose  is  obtained  from  artesian  wells. 

The  soil  of  the  sugar-growing  territory  is  of  porous  limestone 


228  HISTORICAL 

formation,  which  shows  evidence  of  disturbances  and  up- 
heavals due  to  volcanic  agency.  Overlying  this  is  a  deposit  of 
decomposed  vegetable  matter  from  three  to  twelve  inches  in 
thickness,  and  there  are  areas  where  a  rich  black  or  red  soil, 
varying  from  one  to  two  feet  in  depth,  is  found. 

On  December  5,  1492,  Columbus  sighted  the  northern  coast 
of  Haiti  and  found  safe  anchorage  there.  The  newly  discovered 
island  was  named  Espanola,  which  was  afterward  latinized  to 
Hispaniola.  Later  still,  the  settlement  founded  by  the  Spaniards 
in  the  southern  part  under  the  name  of  Santo  Domingo  gave  its 
name  to  the  entire  island.  When  Columbus  set  foot  on  its 
shores,  Haiti  had  2,000,000  inhabitants,  who  were  governed  by 
five  caciques,  each  holding  both  religious  and  political  sway 
over  the  separate  kingdoms.  At  the  outset  the  newcomers  were 
received  with  welcome  and  honor,  but  it  was  not  long  before 
their  tyranny  caused  a  rupture  between  them  and  the  natives. 
A  war  of  extermination  followed,  and  by  1506  the  entire  island 
had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  invaders. 

Left  in  possession  of  a  depopulated  country,  the  Spaniards  re- 
stocked it  with  African  negro  slaves.  Meanwhile  the  interior  of 
the  island  had  been  explored,  settlements  had  been  established, 
mines  opened  up  and  progress  made  in  agriculture.  In  1506 
sugar  was  brought  in  and  its  cultivation  soon  assumed  import- 
ant proportions.  About  1625  the  French  and  English  began  to 
give  trouble  to  Spain  in  the  western  archipelago,  and  a  few 
years  later  a  number  of  Englishmen  and  Frenchmen,  who  had 
been  expelled  from  St.  Kitts  by  the  Spaniards,  took  refuge  on 
Tortuga  island  and  became  famous  under  the  name  of  Bucca- 
neers. They  succeeded  in  establishing  themselves  in  a  part  of 
Haiti,  and  in  1697  their  right  of  possession  was  acknowledged 
and  the  territory  occupied  by  them  was  ceded  by  Spain  to 
France  by  the  treaty  of  Ryswick.  The  new  colony  was  called 
Saint  Dominique,  and  it  entered  immediately  into  an  era  of 


SANTO  DOMINGO  229 

prosperity  in  which  the  expansion  of  the  sugar  industry  was  the 
principal  factor.  When  the  French  revolution  broke  out,  the  ex- 
portations  of  sugar  amounted  to  80,000  tons,  and  this  large  pro- 
duction necessitated  the  employment  of  a  great  number  of 
slaves.  The  whites  were  few  and  the  unequal  proportion  led  to 
disaster.  The  population  consisted  of  whites,  free  colored  people 
(most  of  whom  were  mulattoes)  and  negro  slaves.  The  mulat- 
toes  demanded  the  same  civil  rights  as  the  white  people  and 
these  privileges  were  accorded  them  in  1791.  Incensed  beyond 
measure,  the  whites  clamored  loudly  for  a  reversal  of  this  de- 
cree and  finally  obtained  it.  On  August  23,  1791,  a  violent  insur- 
rection of  the  blacks  broke  out;  the  plantation  slaves  were 
joined  by  the  mulattoes  and  a  massacre  of  the  whites  followed. 
Those  who  escaped  the  slaughter  fled,  leaving  all  their  posses- 
sions behind;  the  sugar  plantations  were  destroyed  and  the 
entire  sugar  industry  came  to  an  abrupt  end. 

In  1793  Saint  Dominique  was  attacked  by  England  and 
Spain,  whereupon  the  French  government,  in  order  to  concili- 
ate the  blacks  and  retain  its  dominion  over  the  colony,  pro- 
claimed all  the  slaves  free.  By  the  terms  of  the  Peace  of  Bale  in 
1795,  the  whole  island  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  French. 

Toussaint  Louverture,  a  negro  of  marked  military  ability, 
was  appointed  commander-in-chief  by  the  directory,  and  by 
1801  he  succeeded  in  restoring  order.  Unfortunately,  the  meas- 
ures that  he  endeavored  to  put  into  effect  aroused  the  sus- 
picions of  Napoleon,  who  sent  out  an  army  to  subdue  him  and 
to  restore  slavery.  This  expedition  met  with  such  determined 
resistance  that  the  commander,  General  Leclerc,  opened  nego- 
tiations and  Toussaint  was  induced  by  solemn  promises  to  lay 
down  his  arms.  He  was  treacherously  seized  and  taken  to 
France,  where  he  died  in  1803.  The  blacks  immediately  re- 
newed hostilities  under  Jean  Jacques  Dessalines,  and  in  No- 
vember, 1803,  the  French  withdrew  completely.  In  the  follow- 


230  HISTORICAL 

ing  year  the  independence  of  the  island  was  declared  and  its 
ancient  name  of  Haiti  was  restored.  Dessalines  was  first  made 
governor  for  life  and  in  October,  1804,  he  proclaimed  himself 
emperor.  He  was  assassinated  in  1806.  From  that  time  to  the 
present  the  country  has  been  in  a  state  of  turmoil  and  the  end 
is  not  yet.  In  1844  the  people  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  island 
seceded  and  formed  the  republic  of  Santo  Domingo.  Ever  since 
then  there  have  been  two  distinct  governments  in  the  island, 
with  the  strongest  political  antipathy  existing  between  them. 

But  little  sugar  cane  is  raised  in  Haiti,  and  the  most  of  this 
small  quantity  is  either  consumed  as  cane  or  made  into  a  bever- 
age called  tafia. 

The  sugar  plantations  of  Santo  Domingo  are  found  on  the 
southern  coast,  in  the  level  stretches  of  Arua  and  Romana,  in 
the  valleys  near  the  city  of  Santo  Domingo  and  in  the  region 
near  San  Pedro  de  Macoris.  No  sugar  is  grown  in  the  interior. 
While  most  of  the  factories  are  land  owners  and  cultivate  cane, 
they  do  not  grow  all  that  they  grind.  A  good  deal  is  raised  by 
colonos  under  the  following  conditions:  The  factories  assign 
parcels  of  land  to  the  colonos  rent-free  and  in  addition  allow 
them  the  use  of  draft  cattle  and  farming  implements.  When 
necessary  a  certain  amount  of  actual  cash  is  advanced.  The 
colonos  plant  and  till  the  land,  furnish  their  own  labor  and 
deliver  the  cane  at  the  point  where  it  is  loaded  on  the  railway 
cars.  The  field  hands  are  either  natives  or  negroes  brought  from 
nearby  islands,  and  their  pay  ranges  from  50  to  75  cents  gold 
per  day. 

The  ground  is  tilled  in  an  indifferent  fashion  and  no  fertiliz- 
ing whatever  is  done.  When  virgin  soil  is  planted,  the  seed  is 
put  in  at  seven-foot  intervals,  sometimes  greater,  without  any 
holes  or  furrows  having  been  made;  the  cuttings  are  simply 
stuck  in  the  ground  and  partly  covered  with  earth.  The  cane 
ripens  in  fourteen  months  or  more.  Ratooning  follows  until  the 


SANTO  DOMINGO  231 

yield  gets  so  small  that  replanting  is  necessary.  When  this  time 
comes,  the  old  roots  are  ploughed  up  and  furrows  from  four  to 
six  inches  in  depth  are  made  about  five  or  six  feet  apart.  The 
seed  cane  is  planted  in  these  furrows  at  four-  or  five-foot  inter- 
vals. The  yield  from  virgin  soil  is  very  heavy  and  has  been 
known  to  reach  ninety  tons  to  the  acre,  but  the  sugar  content 
of  such  crops  is  low,  whereas  the  subsequent  ratoons  with  a 
decreased  tonnage  of  cane  per  acre  give  juice  of  a  better  qual- 
ity. A  fair  average  production  on  a  plantation  having  4000 
acres  in  cane  would  be  about  twenty-four  tons  to  the  acre. 
Naturally  this  estimate  would  be  affected  by  the  relative  pro- 
portions of  plant  cane  and  ratoons,  as  well  as  by  the  character 
of  the  soil.  Planting  is  generally  done  in  June  and  October, 
while  the  harvesting  begins  in  December  and  continues  until 
April. 

Manufacturing  methods  in  Santo  Domingo  admit  of  much 
improvement.  Single  crushing  is  the  method  employed  for  the 
most  part,  so  that  the  loss  in  extraction  is  considerable.  The 
juices  are  treated  and  the  suspended  impurities  allowed  to  set- 
tle at  the  bottom  of  the  tanks.  Filter  presses  are  the  exception 
rather  than  the  rule,  and  for  want  of  them  the  sugar  in  the  resul- 
tant mud  is  lost.  The  clear  juices  are  then  concentrated  and 
boiled  to  grain  in  vacuum  pans.  First  sugars  generally  polarize 
between  95  degrees  and  97  degrees,  seconds  about  86  degrees. 
The  molasses  is  either  made  into  rum  or  permitted  to  run  to 
waste.  Notwithstanding  the  crude  character  of  the  factories 
and  machinery,  the  recovery  of  sugar  is  generally  good,  the 
average  being  between  9  per  cent  and  n  per  cent  of  the  weight 
of  the  cane,  with  single  crushing. 

Almost  all  of  the  factories  are  managed  by  Americans,  but, 
as  has  been  said,  the  equipment  they  have  to  work  with  is  by 
no  means  modern,  and  under  the  extremely  uncertain  political 
conditions  that  prevail  there  is  scant  encouragement  for  out- 


232  HISTORICAL 

side  capital  to  come  in  and  improve  matters.  Just  when  a 
change  for  the  better  will  come  is  impossible  to  say. 

Messrs.  Willett  &  Gray  give  the  yearly  figures  since  1903  in 
long  tons,  as  follows : 

1903-04  47,000  1909-10  93,003 

1904-05  47,000  1910-11  89,979 

1905-06  55,000  1911-12  96,046 

1906-07  60,000  1912-13  84,661 

1907-08  62,235  1913-14  105,778 

1908-09  69,483  I9x4-i5  108,267 
1915-16      120,000 


GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE 

GUADELOUPE 

THE  French  West  Indian  colony  of  Guadeloupe  consists 
of  two  islands  that  lie  in  the  middle  of  the  Leeward 
group  between  15  degrees  57  minutes  and  16  degrees  31 
minutes  north  latitude  and  61  degrees  10  minutes  and  61  de- 
grees 49  minutes  west  longitude.  They  are  separated  by  a  chan- 
nel from  one  hundred  feet  to  four  hundred  feet  wide,  called 
Riviere  Salee. 

Basse-Terre,  the  western  island,  is  twenty-eight  miles  long, 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  miles  wide  and  its  area  is  364  square 
miles.  It  presents  a  rugged  surface,  broken  by  hills  and  high- 
lands, and  a  backbone  of  mountains  runs  through  it  from  north 
to  south.  It  is  of  volcanic  origin,  having  been  thrown  up  by 
four  volcanic  centers,  Grosse  Montagne  (2590  feet),  Les  Ma- 
melles  (2536  feet  and  2368  feet),  Morne  sans  Toucher  (4855 
feet),  and  La  Soufriere  (4868  feet).  The  last-named  volcano 
was  in  eruption  in  1797,  and  in  1843  its  disturbances  wrecked 
several  towns ;  today,  however,  the  only  evidences  of  life  are  a 
few  hot  springs  and  the  emission  of  sulphurous  vapors  at  cer- 
tain points. 

Basse-Terre  is  watered  by  a  number  of  streams  that  become 
swollen  and  turbulent  during  the  rainy  season. 

Grande-Terre,  the  eastern  island,  is  low  and  level,  the  great- 
est elevation  being  only  450  feet.  It  consists  of  a  plain  of  lime- 
stone formation  with  a  conglomerate  of  sand  and  broken  shells. 
It  is  about  twenty-two  miles  long  from  north  to  south  and  its 
area  is  255  square  miles.  The  population  is  190,273,  chiefly 
negroes  and  mulattoes.  For  water  supply  it  is  dependent  upon 


234  HISTORICAL 

ponds  and  cisterns,  as,  owing  to  the  porosity  of  the  soil,  no 
rivers  or  streams  exist. 

The  climate  is  warm  and  humid.  The  mean  yearly  tempera- 
ture is  78  degrees  Fahrenheit,  the  minimum  61  degrees  and  the 
maximum  101  degrees.  The  wet  season  is  from  July  to  No- 
vember, and  on  the  coast  the  annual  rainfall  is  about  eighty- 
six  inches,  with  a  great  deal  more  in  the  interior.  Terrific  storms 
visit  the  island  and  hurricanes  have  wrought  much  destruction. 

The  soil  is  fertile  and  rich  and  the  principal  crop  is  sugar 
cane,  which  is  grown  on  over  half  the  total  cultivated  area.  The 
principal  sugar  centers  are  Point-a-Pitre,  St.  Anne  and  Le 
Moule  in  Grande-Terre,all  of  which  have  well-appointed  usines. 
There  is  also  a  large  usine  in  Basse-Terre. 

Guadeloupe  was  discovered  by  Columbus  in  1493.  One  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  years  afterward  TOlive  and  Duplessis  took 
possession  in  the  name  of  a  French  company  called  the  Com- 
pagnie  des  lies  d'Amerique.  The  native  Caribs  did  not  long  sur- 
vive the  cruel  treatment  accorded  them  by  TOlive,  and  efforts 
at  colonization  were  the  reverse  of  successful,  in  fact  four  char- 
tered companies  were  ruined  in  the  attempt.  In  1674  the  islands 
passed  into  the  possession  of  the  French  crown  and  they  were 
governed  from  Martinique  for  a  long  time.  In  1759  they  were 
captured  by  the  British,  in  whose  hands  they  remained  for  four 
years.  The  British  again  occupied  them  in  1794,  but  were 
driven  out  the  following  summer  by  Victor  Hugues  with  the 
help  of  liberated  slaves.  The  last  British  occupation  took  place 
during  the  Hundred  Days  of  1815,  and  they  finally  withdrew  in 
1816.  Slavery  in  Guadeloupe  was  abolished  in  1848. 

MARTINIQUE 

The  French  colony  of  Martinique  is  the  most  northerly  of  the 
Windward  islands.  It  is  situated  between  14  degrees  55  min- 
utes and  14  degrees  23  minutes  north  latitude  and  60  degrees 


GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE  235 

48  minutes  and  61  degrees  16  minutes  west  longitude.  Its  area 
is  381  square  miles,  its  greatest  length  from  northwest  to 
southeast  36  miles,  and  its  extreme  width  18  miles.  The  popu- 
lation, negroes  and  half-castes  for  the  most  part,  numbered 
190,000  in  1913. 

The  surface  is  mountainous,  the  highest  peak  being  Mt. 
Pelee,  which  rises  4428  feet  above  sea-level.  The  appalling 
eruption  of  this  volcano  in  May,  1902,  was  one  of  the  greatest 
disasters  of  modern  times  and  cost  the  lives  of  40,000  people. 
About  one-third  of  the  island's  surface  consists  of  extensive 
plains,  most  of  them  occurring  in  the  south.  The  soil  of  the 
northern  part  is  of  volcanic  formation,  while  in  the  south  it  is 
composed  of  clay.  There  are  a  number  of  streams,  some  of 
them  of  considerable  size. 

Near  the  coast  the  average  temperature  for  June  is  83  de- 
grees, and  for  January  77  degrees,  the  mean  for  the  year  being 
about  80  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  wet  season  extends  from 
June  to  October  and  the  total  yearly  rainfall  approximates  87 
inches.  August  is  the  wettest  month  and  March  the  driest.  In 
the  low  region  of  the  sea  coast  the  climate  is  not  healthful  for 
Europeans  during  the  hot  period,  but  a  more  salubrious  atmos- 
phere and  a  temperature  10  degrees  lower  is  found  in  the 
wooded  uplands,  1500  feet  above  the  sea.  Fresh,  dry  northerly 
winds  prevail  from  November  to  February,  easterly  winds  from 
March  to  June,  and  damp,  warm  southerly  winds  from  July  to 
October.  Earthquakes  are  frequent,  but  hurricanes  seldom  visit 
the  island. 

Martinique  was  discovered  by  Columbus  on  June  15,  1492, 
and  the  French  Compagnie  des  lies  d'Amerique  took  posses- 
sion of  it  in  1635.  I*  was  settled  in  the  same  year  by  Pierre  Be- 
lain,  captain-general  of  the  island  of  St.  Christopher,  and  in 
1674  it  became  the  property  of  the  crown. 

Sugar  culture  was  begun  in  1650,  and  a  few  years  later  the 


236  HISTORICAL 

aboriginal  Caribs  were  exterminated,  their  place  being  filled 
by  negro  slaves,  of  whom  there  were  60,000  in  the  island  by 
1736.  Slavery  was  abolished  in  1848.' 

During  the  seventeenth  century  Martinique  was  attacked 
several  times  by  the  British  and  the  Dutch.  It  was  captured  in 
1762  by  the  British  under  Admiral  Rodney,  but  restored  to  the 
French  in  the  following  year.  It  was  held  by  the  British  from 
1793  to  1 80 1  and  also  between  1809  and  1814. 

The  capital  of  the  island  is  Fort  de  France,  on  the  west  coast. 
It  is  situated  upon  a  fine  harbor  and  has  18,000  inhabitants.  Be- 
sides the  chief  product,  sugar,  the  colony  raises  coffee,  cocoa, 
tobacco  and  cotton. 

GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE 

Sugar  planting  in  these  islands  dates  from  1635,  the  year  in 
which  they  were  first  occupied  by  the  French,  and  the  industry 
grew  apace,  so  that  much  sugar  was  exported  to  France  dur- 
ing the  latter  half  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  import 
duties  levied  by  France  in  1664  shut  out  foreign  raw  sugars 
from  that  country,  while  protecting  raw  sugars  from  her  col- 
onies ;  but  at^the  same  time  the  tariff  laws  excluded  white  sugar 
produced  in  the  colonies.  This  was  a  death  blow  to  the  refin- 
eries of  Martinique.  A  decree  entirely  prohibiting  the  refining 
of  sugar  in  the  colonies  and  the  exportation  of  raw  sugar  to 
foreign  countries  was  issued  in  1669,  while  an  export  duty  was 
imposed  upon  the  raw  sugar  shipped  to  France.  The  tax  upon 
raw  sugar  was  removed  in  1682,  but  the  duty  on  refined  was  in- 
creased. The  colonial  planters  then  turned  their  attention  to 
the  manufacture  of  clayed  sugars,  which  they  sold  in  North 
America  and  southern  Europe. 

In  1717  France  established  relations  with  her  colonies  that 
were  almost  tantamount  to  free  trade.  No  duties  were  assessed 

*  Britannica  says  1860. 


GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE  237 

upon  French  goods  going  into  the  colonies,  and  commodities 
produced  in  the  colonies  entered  the  mother  country  without 
duty.  As  a  result  of  this  policy,  the  sugar  industry  grew  until 
the  production  of  Guadeloupe,  Martinique  and  Saint  Domi- 
nique was  more  than  France  could  consume,  and  a  law  was 
passed  permitting  the  sale  of  the  surplus  in  other  countries. 

During  the  closing  years  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  war 
between  England  and  France  crippled  the  trade  of  the  French 
West  Indies,  but  when  peace  was  finally  restored  the  sugar  in- 
dustry revived  and  continued  to  flourish  until  the  abolition  of 
slavery  in  1848. 

When  the  slaves  were  freed,  the  planters  cast  about  them  to 
find  laborers,  and  India  was  one  of  the  first  sources  of  supply. 
Over  ten  thousand  Hindus  were  brought  to  Martinique  be- 
tween 1852  and  1862,  and  with  very  few  exceptions  they  re- 
mained in  the  island  after  their  five-year  contract  expired.  Dur- 
ing the  twenty-two  years  that  followed  1862,  25,500  laborers 
came  to  Martinique  from  Pondicherry,  Yanaon,  Karikal  and 
Calcutta  with  the  permission  of  the  Indian  authorities,  but 
emigration  from  that  country  under  government  auspices  was 
discontinued  in  1885.  In  addition  to  Hindus,  free  African 
negroes,  Chinese  and  Annamese  were  brought  in. 

The  sugar  plantations  of  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique  are 
situated  on  the  low,  alluvial  lands  around  the  coast,  although 
some  are  found  in  the  interior.  The  hilly  character  of  the  latter, 
however,  is  not  favorable  to  cane  culture,  as  the  heavy  rains 
wash  the  arable  soil  down  the  slopes,  thus  interfering  with  the 
growth  of  the  cane. 

The  ground  to  be  planted  in  cane  is  first  cleared  and  then 
ploughed.  Furrows  about  two  feet  deep  and  four  and  one-half 
feet  apart  are  then  made  and  the  seed  cane  is  planted  in  holes 
five  inches  deep.  Three  weeks  afterward  the  cane  is  banked 
and  fertilizer  applied.  The  soil  between  the  canes  is  loosened 


238  HISTORICAL 

from  time  to  time  and  the  crop  is  cut  after  a  year's  growth.  As  a 
rule,  ratooning  is  limited  to  two  years,  one  crop  being  produced 
each  year.  The  land  is  then  allowed  to  rest  for  a  time,  after 
which  planting  is  begun  anew. 

Bourbon  cane  is  the  variety  principally  grown,  although 
seedling  canes  have  been  brought  in  from  Barbados  and  British 
Guiana  of  late  years.  The  average  yield  per  acre  of  plant  cane 
is  twenty-four  tons ;  first  ratoons  give  sixteen  tons  and  second 
ratoons  about  eight  tons.  After  the  cane  is  cut  it  is  loaded  on 
large  carts  and  taken  to  the  factories.  Some  estates  are  equipped 
with  field  railways,  the  cars  being  drawn  by  mules  or  loco- 
motives. 

As  mentioned  in  the  chapter  on  Jamaica,  the  early  sugar  pro- 
ducers of  Saint  Dominique,  Guadeloupe  and  Martinique  ex- 
celled the  manufacturers  of  the  other  West  Indian  islands  in 
the  preparation  of  the  commodity.  The  result  was  that  their 
lead  was  gradually  followed  by  the  others,  and  a  brief  descrip- 
tion of  the  methods  they  employed  will  be  of  interest. 

The  cane  juice  was  boiled  in  a  series  of  five  or  six  copper  ket- 
tles placed  over  a  furnace  fed  by  bagasse  and  wood.  These  ket- 
tles were  of  different  sizes,  the  largest  being  farthest  from  the 
fire  and  the  size  of  each  decreased  as  the  furnace  door  was  ap- 
proached, the  smallest  being  directly  above  the  fire.  The  kettle 
next  to  the  largest  was  set  a  little  higher  than  the  largest  one, 
the  third  higher  than  the  second  and  so  on  until  the  last  and 
smallest,  which  was  the  highest  of  the  series.  Clarification  was 
done  with  lime  and  wood  ashes,  and  sometimes  a  little  crude 
antimony.  As  soon  as  the  raw  juice  reached  the  first  and  largest 
kettle  the  clarifying  material  was  thrown  in  and  the  boiling  be- 
gan. The  scum  was  removed  as  soon  as  it  formed,  and  when  the 
juice  became  sufficiently  clear  it  was  quickly  transferred  to  the 
second  kettle;  a  small  amount  of  alkali  was  mixed  with  it  and 
further  boiling  and  skimming  was  done.  The  liquor  was  then 


GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE  239 

ladled  into  kettle  number  three,  potash  lye  and  an  extract  of 
herbs  were  added,  and  after  being  boiled  for  a  time  it  was 
passed  to  kettle  number  four,  and  finally  concentrated  in  the 
last  and  smallest  kettle  immediately  above  the  fire.  When  the 
required  consistency  was  reached,  the  massecuite  was  put  into 
vessels  to  cool,  at  the  same  time  being  kept  in  motion  by  stirring 
until  the  grains  began  to  form.  It  was  then  placed  in  moulds, 
and  after  having  become  thoroughly  cool  it  was  dumped  into 
hogsheads  that  had  perforated  bottoms.  These  hogsheads 
stood  on  racks,  beneath  which  there  was  a  receptacle  to  catch 
the  molasses  as  it  drained  off  through  the  holes  in  the  bottom. 
The  draining  was  allowed  to  continue  until  about  one-half  the 
weight  of  the  contents  of  the  hogshead  was  crystallized  sugar. 
The  holes  were  then  plugged  up  and  the  sugar  was  ready  for 
shipment.  The  molasses  was  manufactured  into  rum. 

A  superior  grade,  called  sucre  terre,  or  clayed  sugar,  was  also 
made.  In  its  preparation,  juice  from  the  best  and  ripest  cane 
was  taken  and  as  little  lime  as  possible  was  used  in  clarification. 
Antimony  was  excluded  entirely,  on  account  of  its  tendency  to 
darken  the  color  of  the  juice.  As  the  juice  was  transferred  from 
kettle  to  kettle  during  the  various  boilings,  it  was  strained 
through  a  cloth  each  time,  instead  of  being  ladled  direct  from 
one  kettle  to  the  next.  When  the  syrup  was  concentrated  it  was 
put  into  earthenware  sugar-loaf  moulds  that  held  between 
thirty  and  thirty-five  pounds  of  massecuite  apiece.  These 
moulds  had  perforations  in  the  bottom  that  were  stopped  up 
before  the  mass  was  put  in.  In  filling  a  mould,  one  quarter  of  its 
capacity  was  put  in  at  one  time,  making  four  operations.  Fif- 
teen minutes  after  the  last  lot  of  massecuite  was  put  in  the 
mould,  a  layer  of  crystals  formed  on  the  surface,  and  this  was 
thoroughly  stirred  into  the  mass,  which  was  then  left  to  cool. 
A  couple  of  days  later  the  plugs  were  removed  so  that  the  mo- 
lasses might  drain  from  the  mould.  In  case  it  did  not  run  off 


240  HISTORICAL 

properly,  the  massecuite  was  remelted,  but  if  the  drainage  was 
satisfactory,  the  next  step  was  the  claying  of  the  sugar.  If  the 
top  of  the  loaves  was  uneven  or  dark-colored,  it  was  scraped 
smooth  and  covered  with  a  layer  of  crushed  sugar.  The  surface 
was  then  hammered  level  and  even.  A  special  kind  of  clay 
brought  from  Rouen  was  mixed  with  water  and  the  mould  was 
filled  to  the  top  with  this  mixture.  Windows  and  doors  were 
shut  to  prevent  evaporation  of  the  moisture,  and  the  water 
draining  from  the  clay  gradually  passed  down  through  the 
sugar  crystals,  washing  the  syrup  from  them.  After  ten  days 
had  elapsed,  the  clay,  then  thoroughly  dried,  was  removed,  the 
surface  of  the  sugar-loaf  was  cleaned,  another  layer  of  wet  clay 
was  applied  and  allowed  to  remain  as  long  as  the  first.  When 
this  second  layer  was  taken  off,  the  loaves  were  removed  from 
the  moulds  and  allowed  to  dry  in  the  air  for  a  time.  Further 
drying  was  done  in  a  drying  room,  heated  for  the  purpose,  and 
the  sugar,  when  all  the  moisture  had  been  driven  from  it,  was 
crushed  by  wooden  pestles.  Refined  sugar  was  packed  for  ship- 
ment in  casks  containing  between  600  and  700  pounds.  The  first 
molasses  was  made  into  rum  or  boiled  into  second  sugar,  and 
the  syrup  washed  from  the  loaves  was  made  into  a  sugar  called 
cassonade. 

This  primitive  method  of  manufacture  has  been  entirely  sup- 
planted by  newer  processes  and  appliances.  As  a  rule,  today 
cane  is  crushed  twice  and  maceration  is  often  employed.  The 
juice  is  treated  with  sulphur  while  still  cold,  and  it  is  then 
pumped  into  defecation  tanks,  where  powdered  lime  is  added; 
after  this  is  done  heat  is  applied.  As  soon  as  the  scum  cracks, 
the  steam  is  turned  off  and  the  clear  juice  is  separated  from  the 
sediment  by  a  siphon  and  run  to  the  evaporators,  while  the 
muddy  precipitate  goes  to  the  filter  presses. 

Concentration  of  the  juice  takes  place  in  double,  triple  or 
quadruple  effects  of  rather  an  old  type,  which  means  lack  of 


GUADELOUPE  AND  MARTINIQUE  241 

economy  in  steam  and  consequent  large  fuel  consumption.  As 
the  quantity  of  bagasse  available  does  not  afford  sufficient  fuel 
to  generate  all  the  steam  that  is  required,  a  considerable 
amount  of  wood  and  coal  is  used  in  addition  for  the  purpose. 
The  unwise  and  short-sighted  policy  of  denuding  the  hillsides 
of  their  timber  has  had  the  effect  of  lessening  the  rainfall,  a 
condition  that  has  brought  great  injury  to  the  planter. 

The  vacuum  pans  are  small  and  of  old  style;  the  centrifugal 
machines,  too,  are  of  obsolete  design  and  slow  to  operate.  After 
the  liquor  has  been  boiled  to  grain  in  the  pans  and  the  sugar 
crystals  have  been  separated  from  the  mother  liquor  in  the  cen- 
trifugals, the  sugar  is  dried  and  packed  for  the  market  in  bar- 
rels or  bags.  The  first  molasses  is  reboiled  and  the  resulting 
massecuite  sent  through  the  centrifugals.  After  this  operation 
has  been  repeated  three  or  four  times,  the  final  molasses  is  made 
into  rum. 

Today  there  are  eighteen  factories  in  Guadeloupe  and  fifteen 
in  Martinique.  The  average  extraction  of  sugar  is  9.70  per  cent 
of  the  weight  of  the  cane,  the  loss  of  sugar  in  the  bagasse  is 
2.15  per  cent,  the  mechanical  loss  in  manufacture  is  .90  per  cent, 
and  the  percentage  of  sugar  not  recovered  from  the  molasses  is 
1.75.  This  gives  an  average  total  of  14.50  per  cent  of  sugar  in 
the  cane. 

The  manufacturers  are  dependent  upon  the  small  farmers 
for  their  raw  material,  and  the  price  paid  for  the  cane  is  deter- 
mined by  a  very  complex  agreement,  which  nevertheless  seems 
to  be  entirely  satisfactory  to  both  buyer  and  seller. 

The  outlook  for  the  sugar  industry  in  Guadeloupe  and  Mar- 
tinique is  far  from  bright.  There  is  labor  in  abundance,  but  the 
natives  are  averse  to  working  steadily,  and  consequently  are 
unreliable.  There  are  great  possibilities  for  improvement,  but 
little  can  be  expected  under  the  circumstances  that  prevail  at 
the  present  time. 


242 


HISTORICAL 


Since  1894  the  production  of  the  two  islands  in  long  tons  has 
been  as  follows : 


1894 

1895 
1896 

1897 
1898 
1899 
1900 
1901 
1902 
1903 
1904 

1905 
1906 
1907 
1908 
1909 
1910 
1911 
1912 

1913 
1914 

1915 
1916 


MARTINIQUE 

36,353 
28,777 

33,886 


31,165 
33,234 


38,905 
28,578 

23,56i 
29,986 

42,231 
36,764 
35,943 
37,757 
39,950 
35,438 

39,433 
40,000 

38,730 
40,000 
40.000 


GUADELOUPE 

42,395 
29,394 
42,6l6 

39,493 
36,550 
39,259 

27,895 
38,086 

39,995 
37,891 
35,348 
26,905 

42,535 
38,345 
35,485 
24,812 

44,289 

38,384 
39,368 
32,000 
39,920 
40,000 
40,000 


MEXICO 

THE  United  States  of  Mexico  lie  between  14  degrees  30 
minutes  and  32  degrees  42  minutes  north  latitude  and  86 
degrees  46  minutes  and  117  degrees  7  minutes  west 
longitude.  On  the  north  the  boundary  is  the  United  States  of 
America;  on  the  east  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  the  Caribbean  sea, 
British  Honduras  and  Guatemala;  on  the  south  British  Hon- 
duras and  the  Pacific  ocean,  and  on  the  west  the  Pacific  ocean. 
The  superficial  area  of  the  country  is  765,537  square  miles.  Its 
greatest  length  is  1942  miles  and  its  greatest  width  is  762  miles. 
It  has  a  coast  line  of  5486  miles,  of  which  1603  miles  are  on  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Caribbean  sea  and  3883  miles  on  the 
Pacific  ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  California. 

The  surface  of  Mexico  rises  sharply  from  the  seacoast  levels 
by  a  series  of  terraces  to  a  central  plateau,  that  varies  in  height 
from  4000  to  8000  feet  and  runs  northwest  and  southeast.  This 
tableland  has  been  formed  by  the  material  deposited  during  the 
gradual  erosion  of  the  mountains  and  by  matter  thrown  up 
by  a  great  number  of  volcanoes.  In  this  manner  the  original 
valleys  became  completely  filled  up  and  those  that  now  exist 
are  of  later  formation.  To  illustrate  this  filling  process,  buried 
mountains  whose  peaks  appear  above  the  surrounding  mass  are 
found  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  plateau,  while  elsewhere  they 
are  met  with  as  continuous  ridges.  The  eastern  coast  is  low 
and  sandy,  except  in  a  few  places  where  the  mountains  come 
down  close  to  the  shore.  The  Pacific  coast  lands  are  also  low, 
but  occasionally  broken  by  mountain  spurs.  Owing  to  the  ter- 
raced character  of  the  country,  very  little  river  navigation  is 
possible,  but  on  the  other  hand  an  enormous  amount  of  power 


244  HISTORICAL 

can  be  developed  from  the  numerous  waterfalls.  Two  high 
mountain  ranges,  one  on  each  coast,  run  parallel  to  the  sea  the 
entire  length  of  Mexico.  The  eastern  chain  is  about  ten  miles 
inland,  while  on  the  west  there  is  only  a  narrow  shelf  of  land 
between  the  sea  and  the  cordilleras.  This  western  range  has 
several  branches  that  run  in  different  directions,  the  most  im- 
portant being  the  Sierra  Madre  Occidental.  In  Mexico  the  high- 
est mountains  are  volcanoes.  On  the  Pacific  side  and  west  of 
the  plateau  are  found  the  Volcan  de  Colima  (12,750  ft.)  and 
the  Nevado  de  Colima  ('14,354  ft.).  Southwest  of  the  City  of 
Mexico  is  the  Nevado  de  Toluca  (16,610  ft.)  and  to  the  south 
and  east  are  the  snow-crowned  giants  Popocatepetl  (17,540  ft.) 
and  Ixtaccihuatl  (15,705  ft.).  Still  farther  east  are  Orizaba 
(16,176  ft.)  and  Cofre  de  Perote  (14,309  ft.).  Popocatepetl  and 
Orizaba  may  be  classified  as  dormant  cones,  for  the  reason  that 
aqueous  and  sulphurous  vapors  are  constantly  being  emitted 
from  their  perfectly  formed  craters.  One  of  the  highest  lakes 
in  the  world  is  found  in  the  crater  of  the  Nevado  de  Toluca. 
Colima  has  been  in  eruption  continuously  for  many  years  and 
is  still  active.  The  snow  never  leaves  the  summits  of  Orizaba, 
Popocatepetl  and  Ixtaccihuatl,  and  on  the  last  the  ice  cap  at- 
tains a  development  sufficient  to  form  true  glaciers. 

On  the  western  coast  the  principal  ports  are  Guaymas,  Ma- 
zatlan,  Topolobampo,  Acapulco,  La  Paz  and  Salina  Cruz;  on 
the  eastern  seaboard,  Tampico,  Vera  Cruz,  Puerto  Mexico, 
Campeche  and  Merida.  Of  the  numerous  rivers,  the  most  im- 
portant is  the  Rio  Grande,  1550  miles  long,  which  forms  a 
natural  boundary  between  Mexico  and  the  United  States  from 
El  Paso  to  the  Gulf.  However,  the  conformation  of  the  country 
does  not  admit  of  river  navigation  to  any  extent. 

According  to  the  census  of  1910,  the  population  was  15,063,- 
207,  of  which  20  per  cent  were  whites,  43  per  cent  of  mixed 
blood  and  the  remainder  of  Indian  extraction. 


MEXICO  245 

In  Mexico  there  are  three  distinct  climates  and  a  wide  range 
of  temperature.  The  hot  country,  tierra  caliente,  extends  from 
the  seacoast  inland  to  an  altitude  of  about  3000  feet.  Here  the 
mean  annual  temperature  is  between  80  degrees  and  88  degrees, 
and  the  highest  between  100  degrees  and  105  degrees  Fahren- 
heit. In  this  region  the  winter  climate  is  delightful,  except  when 
severe  gales  sweep  down  from  the  north.  In  summer  the  ex- 
treme heat  is  not  so  great  as  in  New  York,  because  of  the  mod- 
erating effect  of  cool  breezes. 

The  temperate  region,  tierra  templada,  extends  from  3000 
to  6500  feet  above  sea-level,  and  it  is  here  that  the  ideal  climate 
of  Mexico  is  found,  the  mean  annual  temperature  being  be- 
tween 73  and  77  degrees  Fahrenheit,  with  a  total  variation  of 
possibly  not  over  6  or  8  degrees  during  a  season.  In  this  dry, 
clear  atmosphere  the  hygienic  disadvantages  of  the  seacoast, 
the  sharp,  cold  winds  of  the  upper  altitudes,  sudden  changes  in 
temperature,  heavy  frosts,  extreme  humidity  and  harmful  in- 
sects are  unknown,  and  in  the  dry  season  there  is  no  malaria. 

Tropical  and  semi-tropical  growths  flourish  side  by  side,  and 
there  are  estates  on  which  wheat  and  sugar  cane  are  raised 
almost  in  touch  of  each  other. 

The  cold  country,  tierra  fria,  extends  from  the  65OO-foot 
level  to  the  snow  line,  but  here  the  term  cold  is  used  in  a  com- 
parative sense,  as  distinguished  from  the  heat  of  the  seacoast. 
The  average  temperature  runs  between  59  degrees  and  62  de- 
grees Fahrenheit,  with  slight  variations.  At  times,  however,  a 
norther  will  drive  the  mercury  down  to  40  degrees  or  35  de- 
grees and  sprinkle  the  streets  of  Mexico  City  with  white. 

As  a  rule,  in  Mexico  the  rainy  season  begins  in  May  or  June 
and  ends  in  October.  The  annual  rainfall  varies  greatly  accord- 
ing to  locality,  ranging  all  the  way  from  fifteen  to  fifty  inches. 
Earthquakes  are  of  common  occurrence,  especially  on  the  west- 
ern coast. 


246  HISTORICAL 

Sugar  cane  was  brought  to  Mexico  by  the  Spanish  conquis- 
tadors. Prescott,  in  his  "Conquest  of  Mexico,"1  says  that  the 
sugar  cane  was  transplanted  from  the  neighboring  islands  to 
the  lower  level  of  the  country,  and  that,  together  with  indigo, 
cotton  and  cochineal,  it  formed  a  more  desirable  staple  for  the 
colony  than  its  precious  metals.  He  also  states  that  it  was  Her- 
nan  Cortes  himself  who  introduced  the  cane  from  Cuba.  This 
famous  soldier  established  the  Atlacomulco  plantation,  which 
lies  an  easy  hour's  ride  distant  from  Cuernavaca  in  the  state  of 
Morelos,  and  there,  in  1520,  a  hundred  years  before  the  landing 
of  the  Pilgrim  Fathers  at  Plymouth,  he  erected  the  first  sugar 
mill  in  Mexico.  This  mill  is  owned  by  the  descendants  of  Cortes 
and  is  still  in  operation. 

Thirty  years  later  sugar  was  shipped  from  Mexico  to  Peru 
and  Spain,  and  the  production  of  the  commodity  was  main- 
tained steadily  until  1791.  In  that  year  all  the  cane-growing 
countries  of  western  America  received  a  stimulus  from  the 
wholesale  destruction  of  the  plantations  and  mills  of  Santo 
Domingo. 

In  Mexico  natural  conditions  are  very  favorable  to  sugar  cul- 
ture, but  the  growth  of  the  industry  has  been  retarded  by  the 
primitive  methods  in  vogue,  the  inadequacy  of  transportation 
facilities  and  political  disturbances.  In  the  seaboard  states  the 
sugar  plantations  are  found  chiefly  in  the  rich  lowlands  border- 
ing on  the  Pacific  ocean  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  In  the  Gulf 
states  the  rainfall  is  ample  to  insure  good  crops.  The  largest 
sugar  producer,  however,  is  the  inland  state  of  Morelos,  and 
there,  as  well  as  on  the  west  coast,  irrigation  is  necessary.  The 
higher  levels  do  not  give  such  good  crops  as  the  lowlands;  on 
the  latter  the  yield  is  between  forty  and  sixty  tons  to  the  acre, 
and  on  the  former  it  runs  between  twenty-five  and  forty-five 
tons  to  the  acre.  Sugar  beets  have  been  grown  on  the  plateau 

1  Vol.  Ill,  pp.  256-318  (Dana  Estes  &  Co.'s  edition). 


MEXICO  247 

with  marked  success.  In  the  low,  tropical  regions  seven  or  eight 
crops  of  ratoons  can  be  raised,  but  on  the  higher  lands  replant- 
ing must  be  done  every  two  or  three  years.  The  best-known 
plantations  are  situated  on  large  estates  that  have  been  owned 
by  the  same  families  for  many  generations.  For  instance,  in 
Morelos,  where  about  sixty  per  cent  of  Mexico's  crop  is  pro- 
duced, the  estates  are  owned  by  non-resident  families  and,  as  a 
rule,  managed  by  Spaniards.  Labor  is  cheap  and  abundant,  the 
cane  is  rich  in  juice  and  the  sugar  content  is  high,  but  the  ex- 
traction in  the  small,  crude  mills  is  poor,  the  recovery  of  sugar, 
as  a  rule,  not  exceeding  six  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  cane. 
There  are  a  few  large  factories  in  Mexico  where  the  methods 
and  results  should  be  more  closely  in  accordance  with  modern 
practice. 

The  nineteenth  century  saw  the  industry  maintained  on  a 
fairly  even  basis,  but  about  1900  an  improvement  was  noted,  as 
the  following  table  will  show: 

1899-1900       75,000  tons  1907-1908  123,000  tons 

1900-1901  95,000     "  1908-1909  143,000  " 

1901-1902  103,000     "  1909-1910  148,000  " 

1902-1903  112,000    "  1910-1911  161,602  " 

1903-1904  107,000    "  1911-1912  151,735  " 

1904-1905  107,000    "  1912-1913  148,672  " 

1905-1906  107,500    "  1913-1914  130,000  " 

1906-1907  119,000    "  1914-1915  110,000  " 

1915-1916  75,000  tons 

The  effects  of  the  internal  disturbances  in  Mexico  are  plainly 
reflected  in  the  crop  figures.  In  addition  to  the  sugar  tonnage 
shown,  about  50,000  tons  of  piloncillo  or  panela  (concrete 
sugar)  are  turned  out  annually  by  the  small  mills  and  the  pro- 
duction of  molasses  is  large.  A  considerable  amount  of  the  latter 
is  used  in  the  manufacture  of  rum  and  alcohol. 


248  HISTORICAL 

As  regards  the  future  of  sugar  in  Mexico,  there  is  much  to 
justify  belief  in  ultimate  expansion  and  prosperity.  Labor  is 
cheap  and  plentiful,  there  are  vast  tracts  of  rich  virgin  land 
awaiting  cultivation,  irrigation  possibilities  are  great,  and 
when  the  present  political  disorders  shall  have  been  quieted 
and  stable  conditions  established,  a  movement  forward  will 
surely  follow. 


PERU 

PERU  is  situated  on  the  west  coast  of  South  America  and 
extends  from  3  degrees  21  minutes  to  18  degrees  south 
latitude  and  from  70  degrees  to  81  degrees  40  minutes 
west  longitude.  Its  area,  including  certain  disputed  territory, 
is  676,638  square  miles.  Physically,  it  is  divided  into  three  dis- 
tinct regions,  the  coast,  the  sierra  and  the  montana.  In  the  first, 
or  the  dry  side  of  the  Andean  slope,  spurs  run  out  from  the  main 
range  of  mountains  toward  the  ocean,  forming  extensive  val- 
leys, some  of  which  are  well  watered  and  very  fertile.  The 
spaces  that  lie  beyond  the  life-giving  influence  of  the  rivers 
have  the  appearance  of  sandy  deserts,  but  they  only  need  water 
to  make  them  productive.  The  Andes  proper  occupy  the  sierra 
region,  which  abounds  in  plateaus,  deep  ravines,  rich  sheltered 
valleys  and  snow-capped  mountains  of  stupendous  height.  East 
of  the  Andes  lies  the  montana,  or  wet  side.  It  is  traversed  by 
broad  navigable  rivers  and  embraces  the  sub-tropical  forests 
in  the  ravines  and  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes,  as  well  as 
the  dense  tropical  forests  of  the  wide  valley  of  the  Amazon. 

According  to  the  1915  edition  of  the  Century  atlas,  the  popu- 
lation is  4,609,999.  About  57  per  cent  of  the  inhabitants  are 
Indians,  13  per  cent  whites,  2  per  cent  Asiatics,  2  per  cent 
negroes,  the  remainder  being  mixed  races. 

The  sugar  plantations  are  found  on  the  west  or  dry  side  in 
the  coast  region. 

The  valleys  of  this  coast  country  have  been  upraised  from 
the  ocean  at  a  comparatively  recent  geological  period,  and  the 
fertile  soils  of  these  valleys  are  the  result  of  erosion  and  deposit 
through  the  agency  of  mountain  torrents. 


250  HISTORICAL 

The  most  important  cane-growing  districts  lie  seven  or  eight 
degrees  south  of  the  equator,  and  yet  the  climate  of  that  sec- 
tion cannot  be  called  really  tropical.  It  is  influenced  by  the  cold 
antarctic  currents  and  the  steady  winds  that  sweep  northward. 
Observations  on  the  Cartavio  plantation  during  the  period 
1904-1907  showed  the  highest  maximum  temperature  to  be 
95.5  degrees  and  the  lowest  minimum  to  be  52  degrees  Fahren- 
heit. In  the  coast  territory  the  rainfall  is  limited  and  the  cane 
crops  depend  upon  irrigation. 

The  soils  of  the  coast  valleys  range  from  silt  to  an  extremely 
fine  sandy  loam,  and  vary  in  thickness.  As  a  rule  they  are  deep, 
retentive  of  moisture,  well  drained,  rich  in  plant  food,  easy  to 
cultivate  and,  with  intelligent  treatment,  very  productive. 

Ricardo  Palma,  in  his  work,  "Tradiciones  Peruanas,"  sets 
forth  that  sugar  cane  was  not  known  in  Peru  when  Francisco 
Pizarro  and  his  followers  first  landed  there  in  1527,  but  that  it 
was  brought  in  a  short  time  afterward.  The  first  plantation 
was  established  in  1570  and  the  first  factory  was  erected  on  an 
estate  in  the  valley  of  Huanuco.  Meanwhile,  the  sugar  used  in 
Lima  came  from  Mexico,  and  the  owner  of  the  Huanuco  mill, 
realizing  that  his  product  could  not  compete  with  Mexican 
sugar,  had  recourse  to  a  clever  stratagem.  He  loaded  a  vessel 
with  sugar  and  sent  her  to  Mexico.  The  ruse  was  successful,  for 
the  Mexican  manufacturers  at  once  concluded  that  if  sugar 
could  be  shipped  from  Peru  to  Mexico,  the  production  must  be 
large  and  the  cost  very  low.  Consequently,  they  discontinued 
their  shipments  from  Acapulco  to  Peru,  much  to  the  advantage 
of  the  astute  factor  of  the  Huanuco  valley.  In  the  beginning, 
the  estates  were  worked  by  slaves,  and,  as  happened  in  other 
sugar  countries,  after  the  abolition  of  slavery  the  plantation 
owners  were  compelled  to  look  abroad  for  their  laborers.  As 
many  as  90,000  Chinese  were  imported  from  Macao1  between 

1  Portuguese  settlement  at  the  mouth  of  the  Canton  river. 


PERU  251 

1849  and  1874,  but  so  many  of  them  succumbed  to  the  severe 
treatment  they  received  that  the  Macao  authorities  put  a  stop 
to  the  labor  traffic  altogether.  The  Chinese  living  in  Peru  at  the 
present  time  are  tradespeople  and  the  work  on  the  sugar  plan- 
tations and  in  the  mills  is  done  by  the  native  Indians. 

The  year  1860  marked  an  important  change  in  the  industry  > 
which  up  to  that  time  had  been  carried  on  in  a  very  primitive 
manner.  A  large  amount  of  fresh  capital  was  put  into  sugar  en- 
terprises, new  mills  were  built,  the  most  approved  machinery 
was  installed  and  the  factories  were  equipped  with  the  best  ap- 
pliances that  money  could  buy.  The  apparatus  for  some  of  the 
plants  was  brought  from  the  United  States,  while  that  for 
others  was  supplied  by  European  countries,  so  that  the  meth- 
ods and  workmanship  of  various  nationalities  are  found  in  the 
Peruvian  factories.  No  expense  was  spared  in  any  department 
and  all  went  well  so  long  as  the  price  of  sugar  kept  up;  what 
was  easily  made  was  liberally  administered,  but  when  in  1875 
the  market  dropped,  severe  competition  drove  many  operators 
into  difficulties  and  a  number  of  them  went  under  entirely.  The 
war  with  Chile  in  1878  and  the  subsequent  revolutionary  dis- 
turbances impeded  the  progress  of  the  industry,  but  a  restora- 
tion of  tranquillity  came  in  1895,  and  since  then  the  sugar  busi- 
ness of  Peru  has  prospered  and  increased  in  volume. 

An  experiment  station  was  established  near  Lima  in  1906 
for  the  study  of  cane  cultivation,  irrigation  problems  and  the 
improvement  of  yield  and  quality  by  the  introduction  of  new 
varieties  of  cane.  The  manufacturing  side  of  the  question  has 
also  been  gone  into  with  great  care,  and  much  is  being  done  to 
increase  efficiency  in  that  direction. 

Today  there  are  47  modern  factories  in  Peru  and  125,000 
acres  planted  in  sugar  cane.  Outside  of  these  modern  plants, 
crushing  is  also  done  in  a  crude  manner  in  wooden-roller  mills 
on  small  plantations  that  are  scattered  throughout  the  interior. 


252  HISTORICAL 

The  juice  obtained  in  this  way  is  worked  up  to  chancaca1  or 
panela  or  made  into  an  alcoholic  beverage  called  canaso  or 
chacta. 

As  the  plantations  do  not  depend  upon  any  special  season  of 
rainy  or  dry  weather,  planting  and  harvesting  may  be  done  at 
any  time.  In  Peru  the  land  upon  which  sugar  cane  is  grown  is 
generally  gently  sloping.  On  the  large  haciendas,  when  pre- 
paring virgin  soil  for  planting,  the  brush  is  first  cleared  away 
and  the  holes  filled.  The  ground  is  then  ploughed  and  cross- 
ploughed  by  steam-ploughs  and  broken  fine  by  clod-crushers; 
roadways  and  drainage  ditches  are  laid  out,  forming  squares  or 
rectangles,  and  furrows  are  made  at  intervals  of  three  to  four 
feet.  This  done,  the  ground  is  ready  for  planting.  The  cane  tops 
used  for  seed  are  cut  during  harvesting,  loaded  on  cars  and  sent 
to  the  field  that  is  to  be  planted.  The  seed  cane  is  placed  horizon- 
tally in  the  furrow  and  covered  with  a  few  inches  of  earth,  and 
as  soon  as  the  whole  field  is  planted  in  this  manner,  water  from 
the  irrigation  ditch  is  turned  in  and  the  cane  left  to  grow.  The 
first  weeding  is  done  when  the  cane  shoots  are  a  foot  high,  and 
it  is  continued  at  intervals  until  the  cane  leaves  become  large 
enough  to  shade  the  ground  and  prevent  weed  growth.  The 
cane  matures  in  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  months,  accord- 
ing to  location,  soil  and  weather  conditions.  Some  weeks  before 
harvesting,  irrigation  is  discontinued  in  order  to  allow  the  cane 
to  ripen. 

In  cultivating  the  first  ratoons,  when  the  cane  gets  to  be  a 
few  feet  high  the  crest  of  the  furrow  is  thrown  down  into 
the  furrow  so  that  the  irrigation  water  passes  between  the 
rows  of  cane  instead  of  along  the  furrows,  as  in  the  case  of 
plant  cane. 

Ratooning  is  kept  up  until  it  ceases  to  be  profitable.  At  the 

*  Chancaca  is  made  by  boiling  the  cane  juice  in  open  pans  to  the  consistency  of  masse- 
cuite,  then  running  it  into  moulds  about  six  inches  in  diameter  and  allowing  it  to  cool. 


PERU  253 

Hacienda  Cartavio,  four  ratoon  crops  have  been  grown  in  some 
places,  and  as  many  as  seven  in  others,  with  good  results. 

The  principal  ingredient  of  the  fertilizer  used  is  guano,  which 
is  mixed  with  lime,  nitrate  of  soda,  potassium  sulphate,  or  ashes 
from  the  bagasse  furnaces,  and  it  is  applied  in  various  ways. 
Some  planters  throw  it  in  the  furrows  with  the  seed  cane  and 
allow  it  to  remain  there  a  time  before  turning  on  the  water; 
others  place  it  in  the  furrows  a  few  months  after  the  planting 
and  cover  it  immediately,  while  still  another  method  is  to  apply 
it  and  turn  on  the  water  at  the  same  time.  On  certain  planta- 
tions the  fertilizer  is  ground  and  spread  over  the  entire  field 
just  before  replanting. 

Water  for  irrigating  is  obtained  from  the  mountain  streams, 
which  are  dammed  at  certain  points,  and  but  little  is  pumped 
from  wells.  The  quantity  needed  is  far  less  than  in  Hawaii, 
owing  to  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  presence  of  underground 
moisture  close  to  the  surface.  A  fixed  amount  is  assigned  to 
each  estate  by  the  government  and  this  is  never  exceeded  dur- 
ing the  dry  season.  In  flood  time,  however,  the  regulations  are 
somewhat  relaxed,  as  there  is  then  enough  for  all  and  to  spare. 

The  water  is  brought  on  the  land  by  large  ditches,  and  thence 
to  the  cane  fields  through  smaller  ones.  From  these  field  ditches 
it  flows  directly  into  the  cane  rows  at  the  upper  end  of  the  field 
or  section,  and,  owing  to  the  slight  slope  of  the  land,  it  passes 
freely  through  the  parallel  rows  from  the  upper  to  the  lower  end 
of  the  section.  It  is  retained  in  the  furrow  by  means  of  a  dam 
at  the  lower  end.  Other  ditches  are  made  at  the  lower  ends  of 
the  sections  for  drainage  purposes.  The  amount  of  irrigating 
done  varies  according  to  the  nature  of  the  land ;  in  some  cases 
water  is  applied  only  once  during  the  season,  in  others  as  many 
as  twenty-four  times.  The  average  number  of  waterings  is  five. 

When  the  cane  is  ripe  it  is  cut  by  laborers  with  heavy  knives, 
or  machetes,  and  loaded  by  hand  into  cars  that  run  through  the 


254  *-      HISTORICAL 

fields  on  portable  tracks.  These  cars,  which  hold  from  two  to 
ten  tons  each,  are  made  up  into  trains  and  drawn  by  a  locomo- 
tive to  the  mill.  The  average  yield  per  acre  in  1912  was  about 
34  tons,  but  the  planters  are  seeking  for  better  results  through 
improved  field  methods  and  new  varieties  of  cane.  Pests  and 
disease  do  little  damage  in  Peru,  although  the  borer  gives 
some  trouble.  Owing  to  the  long  period  of  growth  in  a  dry 
climate,  Peruvian  cane  is  high  in  fiber  and  low  in  juice,  but  the 
juice  is  rich  and  very  pure;  this  combination  of  high  fiber  con- 
tent and  high  percentage  of  sugar  in  the  juice,  however,  brings 
about  an  unusual  loss  of  sugar  in  the  bagasse. 

Nearly  all  of  the  sugar  manufactured  is  a  coarse-grained 
centrifugal  raw,  polarizing  about  96.5  degrees  and  known  to 
the  trade  as  "Peruvian  crystals."  Part  of  it  is  marketed  in  the 
United  States  and  the  rest  goes  to  Great  Britain,  while  the 
second  and  third  sugars  are  sent  to  Chile  to  be  refined  there.  A 
certain  amount  of  white  sugar  for  home  consumption  is  made 
by  washing  the  brown  centrifugal  sugar. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  Chilean  war  the  output  was  approx- 
imately 80,000  tons.  In  1905  the  production  of  sugar  and  mo- 
lasses was  159,294  long  tons,  and  132,222  tons  of  this  were  ex- 
ported. 

The  following  table  gives  the  outturn  in  long  tons  since  1905  : 

TOTAL 

I59.2I3 
166,770 
138,986 
154,836 
152,567 


YEAR 

CONSUMPTION 

EXPORTS 

1905 

27,077 

132,136 

I9O6 

32,178 

134,592 

1907 

30,110 

108,886 

I9O8 

31,895 

122,940 

1909 

29,173 

123,393 

1910 

29,189 

119,744 

I9II 

31,988 

121,758 

1912 

36,129 

145,106 

1913 

34,976 

140,669 

153,745 
l8l,236 

175,645 


PERU  255 

YEAR  CONSUMPTION  EXPORTS  TOTAL 

1914  32,555  i73>9!0  206,465 

40,000          208,487  248,487 


The  possibilities  for  expansion  in  Peru's  sugar  industry  are 
large.  Further  impounding  and  conservation  of  the  flood  waters 
from  the  mountains  would  bring  under  cultivation  many  thou- 
sands of  acres  that  are  now  unproductive.  Good  flowing  wells 
have  been  sunk  on  some  estates,  and  it  is  likely  that  many  more 
will  be  found,  thus  adding  substantially  to  the  present  water 
supply.  As  to  cost,  it  would  seem  that  Peru  should  be  able  to 
compete  successfully  with  other  cane-growing  countries.  The 
plantation  lands  are  level  or  slightly  sloping,  so  that  cultivating 
machinery  may  be  used  to  good  advantage.  Grinding  can  be 
carried  on  without  interruption  throughout  the  year,  which 
means  economical  factory  capacity  and  an  even  distribution  of 
labor.  The  cost  of  labor,  too,  is  reasonable,  and  great  quantities 
of  fertilizers  lie  close  at  hand.  In  short,  Peru  enjoys  many  ad- 
vantages, and  if  her  planters  and  refiners  keep  pace  with  scien- 
tific development,  she  will  take  a  prominent  place  among  the 
cane-sugar  countries  of  the  world. 


BRAZIL 

BRAZIL  is  the  largest  political  division  of  South  America. 
Its  area  is  3,270,000  square  miles,  or  slightly  greater  than 
that  of  the  United  States,  excluding  Alaska.  From  Cape 
Orange,  in  4  degrees  21  minutes  north  latitude,  it  extends  2629 
miles  southward  to  the  river  Chuy,  in  33  degrees  45  minutes 
south  latitude,  and  from  Olinda  2691  miles  west  to  the  Peru- 
vian border,  between  34  degrees  50  minutes  and  73  degrees 
50  minutes  west  longitude.  According  to  the  latest  census  re- 
turns at  hand,  the  population  numbers  20,515,000. 

Speaking  generally,  Brazil  is  a  tropical  country  with  sub- 
tropical and  temperate  regions  in  the  south  and  in  a  large  part 
of  the  high  central  plateau.  The  sugar-producing  states  are 
Maranhao,  Rio  Grande  do  Norte,  Parahyba,  Pernambuco,  Ala- 
goas,  Sergipe,  Bahia,  Minas  Geraes,  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  Sao 
Paulo.  The  plantations  themselves  lie  between  4  degrees  and 
21  degrees  south  latitude,  and  being  swept  by  the  moisture- 
laden  eastern  trade  winds,  they  receive  a  fair  amount  of  rain 
during  the  wet  season,  that  is,  from  January  to  May. 

Traces  of  a  vanished  civilization  had  already  given  rise  to  the 
belief  that  the  history  of  Brazil,  like  that  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
extended  far  into  remote  ages,  when,  in  1845,  tne  discovery  in 
the  interior  of  the  country  of  the  ruins  of  a  large  and  very 
ancient  city,  with  magnificent  buildings  bearing  inscriptions  in 
unknown  characters,  confirmed  this  opinion. 

Nevertheless,  the  known  history  of  Brazil  dates  only  from  the 
end  of  the  fifteenth  century.  It  was  discovered  in  February, 
1499,  by  Vicente  Yanez  Pinzon,  a  companion  of  Columbus. 
The  following  year  it  was  annexed  to  Portugal  by  Pedro  Al- 


BRAZIL  257 

vares  Cabral,  but  the  new  territory  received  little  attention 
from  the  Portuguese  monarchs  until  1531,  when  an  attempt  at 
colonization  was  made.  Shortly  afterward  a  sugar  mill  was 
erected  in  Sao  Vicente  Piratininga,  now  Sao  Paulo,  and  as  the 
soil  and  climate  of  that  part  of  the  country  were  well  adapted 
to  cane  culture,  the  industry  grew  and  other  factories  were 
built.  In  1580  there  were  120  mills,  the  greater  number  being  in 
Bahia  and  Pernambuco.  That  same  year  Philip  II  of  Spain 
usurped  the  crown  of  Portugal,  and  Brazil,  with  the  rest  of  the 
Portuguese  possessions,  came  under  Spanish  rule.  Under  the 
new  regime  she  was  exposed  to  attack  by  powerful  foes.  Dutch 
forces  occupied  Bahia  in  1624,  only  to  be  expelled  by  the  Span- 
iards a  year  later;  in  1629,  however,  they  obtained  a  foothold 
in  Pernambuco.  They  took  Olinda  and  its  port,  but  were  unable 
to  extend  their  influence  beyond  the  borders  of  the  town  until 
the  arrival  of  (the  newly  appointed  governor,  Count  John 
Maurice  of  Nassau-Siegen,  in  1636.  This  able  executive  carried 
the  Dutch  dominion  along  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Sao 
Francisco  to  Maranhao,  and  an  expedition  sent  out  by  him  cap- 
tured Angola  and  Sao  Thome  on  the  west  African  coast,  thus 
securing  a  supply  of  negro  slaves,  while  depriving  the  enemy 
of  them.  He  did  much  to  build  up  the  sugar  industry,  so  se- 
verely crippled  by  the  war,  and  when  in  1644  he  resigned  his 
post,  the  importance  of  Brazil  as  a  sugar-producing  country 
had  been  re-established.  The  Portuguese  threw  off  the  yoke  of 
Spain  in  1640  and  immediately  set  about  to  retake  their  former 
colony,  Brazil.  After  years  of  fighting,  the  Dutch  were  finally 
overcome  and  in  1655  a  government  decree  drove  them  from 
the  country.  This  banishment  deprived  Brazil  of  the  Dutch 
sugar  planters,  with  their  slaves,  their  capital,  their  practical 
knowledge  and  skill.  From  the  time  of  their  exodus  the  Bra- 
zilian sugar  industry  began  to  decline.  The  greater  number 
of  these  refugees  established  themselves  in  the  West  Indies, 


258  HISTORICAL 

where  they  again  engaged  in  sugar  planting  with  marked  suc- 
cess. 

Brazil  became  an  independent  power  in  1825  as  an  empire, 
with  Dom  Pedro  I,  son  of  the  Portuguese  king,  on  the  throne. 
This  monarch  abdicated  in  1831  in  favor  of  the  five-year-old 
heir  apparent,  who  took  the  name  of  Dom  Pedro  II  and  reigned 
until  1889,  when  the  empire  gave  way  to  a  republic.  The  wars 
carried  on  by  Brazil  against  her  neighbors  between  1851  and 
1870  brought  her  provinces  into  touch  with  each  other,  as  well 
as  with  the  outside  world. 

In  1826  she  pledged  herself  to  Great  Britain  that,  beginning 
with  1830,  she  would  suppress  the  traffic  in  African  negro 
slaves.  This  promise,  however,  she  failed  to  keep,  so  the  British 
parliament  passed  an  act  directing  the  seizure  of  all  slave  ships 
found  in  Brazilian  waters.  In  every  instance  the  slaves  were 
liberated  and  the  slave  dealers  brought  before  British  tribunals. 
Complete  suppression  of  the  importation  of  slaves  was  the  re- 
sult. In  1871  children  born  of  slave  parents  were  declared  free 
by  law,  and  the  movement  in  favor  of  emancipation  continued 
until  1888,  when  slavery  was  entirely  abolished  without  any 
indemnity  to  the  slave  owners. 

The  long  reign  of  Dom  Pedro  II  was  marked  by  progress 
and  prosperity.  The  emperor  had  the  best  interests  of  his  people 
always  at  heart  and  concerned  himself  more  with  economic 
development  than  with  political  activities.  Broad  and  liberal 
in  his  views,  he  made  no  attempt  to  prevent  the  spread  of  so- 
cialistic doctrines,  which,  about  the  year  1880,  began  to  seri- 
ously affect  the  thought  of  the  educated  classes.  The  feeling  of 
unrest  and  the  desire  for  change  engendered  in  this  way  cul- 
minated in  the  military  conspiracy  of  1889,  and,  as  was  on^Y 
natural,  the  former  slave  owners,  smarting  under  their  losses, 
took  sides  against  the  emperor.  The  monarchy  fell  and  was  re- 
placed by  a  republican  form  of  government,  which,  despite 


BRAZIL  259 

several  attempts  to  restore  the  empire,  has  endured  to  the 
present  day. 

In  the  sugar-growing  regions  of  the  north  and  center 
methods  of  cultivation  do  not  show  much  improvement  over 
the  practice  of  early  times.  Cane  is  planted  in  holes  about  nine 
inches  deep  and  five  feet  apart,  no  fertilizer  being  used.  Some 
five  weeks  later  the  soil  is  turned  up  and  after  fifteen  months' 
growth  the  cane  matures.  In  Sao  Paulo,  however,  the  planters 
work  on  more  scientific  lines,  and  ploughing,  furrowing,  tilling, 
fertilizing  and  weeding  are  done  in  a  thorough  manner.  The 
crop  depends  upon  rainfall  entirely,  and  in  a  normal  season 
ripens  in  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  months.  As  soon  as  the  cane 
is  cut  the  dry  cane  leaves  are  burned  and  ploughing  begins.  The 
plough  passes  close  enough  to  the  cane  roots  to  tear  them  more 
or  less,  thus  helping  the  new  growth.  Shortly  after  the  new 
cane  shoots  appear,  the  ground  is  spaded  up  or  ploughed,  just 
as  in  the  case  of  plant  cane.  Ratoons  ripen  in  twelve  or  fourteen 
months,  and  as  a  rule  four  to  six  ratoon  crops  are  grown  before 
replanting  is  done. 

The  yield  of  cane  varies  with  the  rainfall  and  the  richness  of 
the  soil,  and  ranges  from  20  to  30  tons  per  acre  for  first  ratoons, 
diminishing  with  succeeding  crops.  The  sugar  content  fre- 
quently reaches  18  per  cent. 

Cane  is  grown  either  by  colonos  or  by  indentured  laborers. 
In  the  colono  system  a  tract  of  land  from  9  to  36  acres  in  size 
and  planted  to  cane  is  assigned  by  the  estate  to  a  group  of 
colonos  according  to  their  number.  The  colonos  care  for  the 
cane  during  its  period  of  growth  and  harvest  it  when  ripe.  For 
this  they  receive  the  equivalent  of  $12.50  American  gold  per 
acre.  Assuming  that  the  yield  per  acre  is  20  tons,  the  cost  to  the 
owner  of  the  estate  of  cultivating  and  harvesting  a  ton  of  cane 
is  62,^/2  cents.  The  colono  is  given  pasture  land  for  his  cattle, 
fuel  and  house  rent  free. 


260  HISTORICAL 

The  indentured  laborers  are  allotted  a  certain  amount  of  un- 
tilled  ground,  which  they  prepare,  plant  and  cultivate.  Seed 
cane,  houses  and  pasturage  are  furnished  gratis,  and  when  the 
cane  is  ripe  they  harvest  it.  The  amount  paid  the  indentured 
laborers  for  cane  raised  in  this  way  fluctuates  according  to  the 
market  value  of  sugar.  For  example,  in  Sao  Paulo  when  the 
price  of  sugar  is  $4.41  gold  per  hundredweight,  the  laborer  gets 
$2.23  per  ton  for  his  cane;  when  the  price  exceeds  $4.41  and  is 
less  than  $5.90  per  hundredweight,  he  receives  $2.55  per  ton; 
when  sugar  sells  between  $5.90  and  $8.60  per  hundredweight, 
his  share  is  $3.18  per  ton;  should  the  price  go  over  $8.60,  he  gets 
$3.82  per  ton. 

The  practice  in  Bahia  is  somewhat  different.  Taking  as  a 
basis  a  price  of  $2.939  gold  per  hundredweight  for  sugar,  the 
cane  brings  $1.646  per  long  ton,  and  for  every  .147  cent  (1-7 
cent)  per  pound  fluctuation  in  the  price  of  sugar,  the  value  of 
cane  changes  9.88  cents  per  ton  up  or  down  as  the  case  may  be.1 

In  the  small  factories  the  methods  of  manufacture  are  very 
old-fashioned.  The  cane  is  crushed  between  rolls  of  hard  wood, 
and  the  juice,  after  being  strained  to  remove  the  suspended  im- 
purities, is  boiled  to  grain  in  copper  kettles.  The  magma  is  then 
run  into  large  wooden  moulds  having  cone-shaped,  perforated 
bottoms.  The  holes  in  the  bottom  of  these  moulds  are  closed 
when  the  hot  massecuite  is  dumped  in,  but  as  soon  as  it  cools 
the  plugs  are  taken  out  and  the  molasses  allowed  to  drain  off.  A 
layer  of  very  wet  clay  is  then  spread  over  the  top  of  the  sugar, 
and  as  the  water  slowly  drains  from  the  clay  it  passes  through 
the  sugar  crystals,  carrying  the  mother  liquor  with  it.  After  this 
washing  process  has  gone  on  for  some  time,  the  sugar  is  re- 
moved from  the  moulds,  and  the  upper  portion  is  found  to  be 
white,  or  nearly  so,  while  underneath  the  color  deepens  into  yel- 
low and  from  that  to  brown  as  the  bottom  is  reached.  The  sug- 

1  These  figures  based  upon  Brazilian  milreis,  paper,  being  worth  is.  4d.  stg. 


BRAZIL  261 

ars  are  carefully  separated  according  to  their  color,  then  dried 
and  packed  in  bags  containing  60  kilograms  or  about  132 
pounds  each. 

It  will  readily  be  seen  that  the  loss  in  extraction  by  such 
means  is  very  great.  In  fact,  from  cane  having  a  sugar  content 
of  15  per  cent,  sometimes  not  more  than  between  5  per  cent  and 
6  per  cent  of  sugar  is  recovered.  The  best  results  are  naturally 
obtained  in  the  large  factories,  or  usines,  but  even  there,  owing 
to  poor  crushing,  9  per  cent  of  the  weight  of  the  cane  in  sugar 
is  considered  satisfactory. 

In  the  usines  the  juices  are  treated  with  sulphur  and  neutral- 
ized with  lime.  They  are  then  allowed  to  settle,  after  which 
they  are  boiled  to  grain  and  the  crystals  separated  from  the 
mother  liquor  in  centrifugal  machines.  The  sugar  is  dried  and 
the  remaining  liquor  is  returned  to  the  pans  for  rebelling. 

The  various  grades  produced  are : 

Cristaes  blancos  (white  washed  sugar) 

Cristaes  amarellos  (first  yellow,  termed  Demerara) 

Mascavinhos  (second  yellow,  fine  grain) 

Mascavos  (dark  brown  sugar,  final  product) 

The  greater  portion  of  the  sugars  made  in  Brazil  is  refined, 
but  a  certain  amount  goes  directly  into  consumption  in  its  raw 
state.  Refining  on  a  large  scale  according  to  European  methods 
has  been  tried  at  various  times,  but,  owing  to  the  high  cost  of 
labor,  fuel  and  transportation,  all  these  attempts  have  proved 
unsuccessful.  Then  again,  the  demand  for  sugar  prepared  in 
the  European  way  is  not  great,  the  Brazilians  preferring  the 
moist  fine-grained  sugar  made  in  the  small  refineries.  This 
sugar  has  a  molasses  taste,  polarizes  about  91  degrees  and  car- 
ries about  2  per  cent  of  glucose.  In  manufacturing  the  white 
grade,  a  liquor  of  31  degrees  Baume1  is  first  made  from  raw 

A  sugar  solution  of  31  degrees  Baume  contains  56.2  per  cent  sucrose. 


262  HISTORICAL 

sugar.  This  is  clarified  with  ox-blood  and  filtered  through  bone- 
char,  after  which  the  clear  liquor  is  boiled  at  a  temperature  of 
266  degrees  Fahrenheit  over  an  open  fire  until  only  about  4  per 
cent  of  water  remains.  It  is  then  removed  from  the  fire,  a  small 
quantity  of  dry  granulated  sugar  is  added  and  the  mass  is 
stirred  with  a  wooden  paddle.  Cool,  dry,  fine-grained  sugar  is 
the  result.  The  yellow  grade,  or  terzira,  as  it  is  called,  is  made 
in  exactly  the  same  manner,  except  that  no  clarifying  or  filter- 
ing is  done.  The  rich  molasses  odor  and  taste  of  this  sugar 
please  the  popular  palate  to  such  an  extent  that  it  commands  a 
higher  price  than  white  granulated  sugar  refined  by  the  most 
modern  processes.  In  fact  nearly  75  per  cent  of  the  sugar  con- 
sumed in  Rio  de  Janeiro  is  terzira.  Its  manufacture  does  not  re* 
quire  expensive  equipment  or  any  great  amount  of  technical 
skill,  hence  it  appeals  to  the  native  merchants  and  confec- 
tioners. 

Recently  the  government  has  put  forth  some  effort  to  en- 
courage and  improve  the  sugar  industry,  but  so  far  without 
much  success.  A  law  was  passed  in  1875  guaranteeing  a  return 
of  7  per  cent  upon  the  money  expended  in  constructing  central 
factories,  a  given  number  being  allowed  each  state.  This  act 
was  modified  some  years  later  and  the  rate  of  interest  reduced 
to  6  per  cent,  but  as  the  refunding  period  was  longer  it  met  with 
more  favor  than  the  first  and  a  number  of  concessions  were 
granted.  In  1889  the  state  of  Pernambuco  appropriated  a  sum 
equal  to  $135,000.00  gold  to  be  divided  among  forty  factories, 
with  the  understanding  that  repayment  was  to  be  begun  after 
the  harvesting  of  the  third  crop  and  extended  over  a  period  of 
twenty  years.  All  this  legislation  had  no  definite  result. 

A  few  years  ago,  a  combination  of  the  producers  was  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  maintaining  a  high  price  for  domestic  sugar 
by  setting  aside  a  certain  fixed  amount  for  export.  At  first  this 
was  20  per  cent,  but  it  was  afterward  increased  to  40  per  cent. 


BRAZIL  263 

The  plan,  however,  was  ineffectual.  A  heavy  import  duty  (about 
5.86  cents  per  pound)  prohibits  the  bringing  in  of  foreign 
sugars,  so  that  Brazil  must  provide  for  her  requirements  with- 
in her  own  borders. 

Accurate  information  concerning  production,  distribution 
and  prices  is  hard  to  obtain.  Bad  transportation  facilities,  di- 
versity of  customs  regulations  between  the  states,  and  the 
vast  number  of  small  producers  who  sell  to  the  consumer  di- 
rect, make  the  compilation  of  dependable  data  almost  an  impos- 
sibility. The  statistics  that  are  submitted,  therefore,  are  ap- 
proximative. 

Brazil's  sugar  exports  grow  less  and  less.  The  United  States 
no  longer  depends  upon  her  for  supplies,  so  that  the  outlook  for 
the  industry  in  Brazil  is  not  bright  at  the  present  time.  Modern 
refining  methods  are  not  regarded  with  favor  by  the  people  and 
any  considerable  extension  in  production  seems  remote. 


PRODUCTION 

IN  BRAZIL 

1891 

185,000  tons 

1904 

197,000  tons 

1892 

2OO,OOO   " 

1905 

195,000  " 

i893 

275,000   " 

1906 

275,000 

1894 

275,OOO   " 

1907 

215,000  " 

1895 

225,OOO   " 

1908 

180,000  " 

1896 

2IO,OOO   " 

1909 

248,000  " 

1897 

2O5,OOO   " 

I9IO 

253,000  " 

1898 

IS^SOQ  " 

I9II 

287,000  " 

1899 

175,000 

1912 

235,000  " 

1900 

256,460 

1913 

204,000  " 

1901 

312,957 

1914 

203,394  " 

1902 

254,693 

1915 

240,000  " 

1903 

187,500  " 

1916 

194,000  " 

BRITISH  GUIANA 

GJIANA,  in  its  widest  meaning,  is  the  name  given  to  that 
part  of  South  America  that  lies  between  8  degrees  40 
minutes  north  and  3  degrees  30  minutes  south  latitude 
and  50  degrees  and  68  degrees  30  minutes  west  longitude.  This 
vast  territory,  about  690,000  square  miles  in  area,  comprises 
Venezuelan  Guiana,  British  Guiana,  Dutch  Guiana  (Surinam), 
French  Guiana  (Cayenne),  and  Brazilian  Guiana.  The  first  of 
these  divisions  is  now  part  of  Venezuela  and  the  last  is  included 
in  Brazil. 

The  coast  of  British  Guiana  is  fringed  by  low,  alluvial  flats, 
the  result  of  deposit  by  the  rivers.  Beginning  at  three  feet  be- 
low high-water  mark,  these  flats  extend  inland  25  or  30  miles, 
rising  imperceptibly  about  15  feet.  Beyond  is  a  broad,  rolling 
region  of  sandy  clay  formation,  150  feet  above  sea-level,  which 
runs  back  to  the  forest-covered  hills.  Two  ranges  of  mountains 
traverse  the  country  from  west  to  east  and  a  third  chain  forms 
the  southern  boundary  and  the  watershed  between  the  Esse- 
quibo  and  the  Amazon.  The  highest  mountain  peak  is  Roraima 
on  the  western  border,  8635  feet. 

The  rivers  of  British  Guiana  and  their  tributaries  form  a  net- 
work of  waterways  throughout  the  country  and  they  are  prac- 
tically the  only  transportation  routes  from  the  coast  into  the 
interior.  The  most  important  are  the  Essequibo,  the  Demerara, 
the  Berbice  and  the  Corentyn.  The  Essequibo  has  its  source  in 
the  Acari  mountains  near  the  equator  at  850  feet  above  the 
sea,  and  it  flows  north  about  600  miles,  reaching  the  Atlantic  by 
an  estuary  15  miles  wide,  in  which  there  are  a  number  of  large 
and  fertile  islands.  At  one  time  sugar  cane  was  grown  on  four 


BRITISH  GUIANA  265 

of  these  islands,  but  today  only  one,  Wakenaam,  has  a  sugar 
mill. 

For  the  ten  months  beginning  with  October  and  ending  in 
July,  the  temperature  on  the  coast  is  even,  as  the  northeast 
trade  winds  keep  it  down  to  80  degrees  Fahrenheit  on  an  aver- 
age, but  the  cessation  of  the  trades  in  August  and  September 
makes  the  heat  oppressive.  Hurricanes  are  unknown  and  but 
little  damage  is  caused  in  the  coast  regions  by  earthquakes,  ow- 
ing to  the  character  of  the  soil.  In  the  interior  the  year  is  divided 
into  one  wet  and  one  dry  season,  but  in  the  low-lying  coast 
country,  where  the  sugar  plantations  are,  there  are  two  wet  and 
two  dry  periods.  The  long  wet  season  begins  about  the  middle 
of  April  and  lasts  until  August;  the  long  dry  period  is  from  Sep- 
tember to  the  end  of  November.  The  rainfall  varies  greatly  ac- 
cording to  locality;  on  the  coast  the  yearly  average  is  80  inches. 
In  1914  the  population  was  estimated  to  be  304,089;  of  these 
120,000  were  negroes,  124,000  East  Indians,  11,600  Portuguese, 
4300  Europeans  of  other  nationalities,  6500  aborigines  and  over 
30,000  of  mixed  race. 

Guiana  was  sighted  by  Columbus  in  1498  and  by  Alonzo  de 
Ojeda  and  Amerigo  Vespucci  in  the  year  following.  Vicente 
Yanez  Pinzon  is  credited  with  having  sailed  up  some  of  the 
rivers  in  1500  and  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  ascended  the  Orinoco  in 
J595  m  quest  of  the  mythical  city  El  Dorado.  Dutch  traders 
reached  Guiana  in  1598  and  by  1613  they  had  established 
several  settlements  on  the  coast  of  Demerara  and  Essequibo. 
Meanwhile  English  and  French  adventurers  were  endeavoring 
to  obtain  a  foothold  in  Surinam  and  Cayenne,  which  they  suc- 
ceeded in  doing  in  1652.  The  colony  of  Essequibo  was  under  the 
administration  of  the  Dutch  West  India  company  from  1621 
until  1791,  when  the  company  was  dissolved.  A  Dutch  settle- 
ment established  on  the  Berbice  river  in  1624  was  the  beginning 
of  the  colony  of  that  name,  which  was  taken  under  the  protec- 


266  HISTORICAL 

tion  of  the  States-general  of  Holland  in  1732.  Demerara,  for- 
merly a  dependency  of  Essequibo,  became  a  separate  colony  in 
1773.  In  1781  the  three  colonies,  Essequibo,  Demerara  and  Ber- 
bice,  were  captured  by  British  privateers.  The  following  year 
they  were  taken  by  France,  and  restored  to  Holland  in  1783. 
The  British  took  possession  a  second  time  in  1796,  retaining 
them  for  about  six  years,  at  the  end  of  which  period  they 
passed  back  into  the  hands  of  Holland  once  more.  The  British 
occupied  them  in  1803  and  they  were  formally  ceded  to  Great 
Britain  in  1815.  The  three  colonies  were  consolidated  into  one 
under  the  name  of  British  Guiana  in  1831. 

Essequibo,  Berbice  and  Demerara  all  produced  a  consider- 
able amount  of  sugar  during  the  Dutch  regime.  The  plantations 
were  on  coast  and  river  lands  that  had  been  diked  and  drained. 
Like  all  sugar-growing  countries,  this  colony  was  adversely 
affected  by  the  abolition  of  slavery,  but  owing  to  the  success  that 
attended  the  introduction  of  coolies  from  Hindustan,  the  labor 
situation  never  became  so  acute  as  it  did  in  many  islands  of  the 
West  Indies.  Traffic  in  African  negro  slaves  was  forbidden  in 
1808.  After  1834  the  sugar  planters  sought  free  laborers  in  the 
neighboring  islands  and  in  Madeira.  Many  people  who  had 
been  deprived  of  their  means  of  livelihood  by  the  destruction 
of  the  vineyards  of  Madeira  by  disease  -settled  in  British 
Guiana.  The  importation  of  free  negroes  from  British  African 
possessions  was  sanctioned  by  the  home  government  in  1840, 
and  between  that  year  and  1865  a  large  number  of  slaves  taken 
by  British  war  ships  from  Cuban  and  Brazilian  slavers  were 
landed  in  British  Guiana,  where  they  found  employment  as  free 
laborers.  This  source  of  labor  supply  was  cut  off  by  the  aboli- 
tion of  slavery  in  Brazil  and  other  countries.  In  1867  the  impor- 
tation of  free  blacks  from  British  Africa  was  prohibited  and  the 
movement  to  supply  laborers  from  China  came  to  an  end.  The 
Chinese  experiment  was  repeated  in  1874  and  1878,  but  never 


BRITISH  GUIANA  267 

since.  The  bringing  in  of  British  Indians,  however,  proved  a 
success  ever  since  the  time  it  was  first  done  in  1838.  These 
laborers  are  indentured  for  five  years,  and  five  years  after  the 
expiration  of  their  contract  they  have  the  privilege  of  being 
taken  back  to  their  homes,  without  charge.  During  the  five 
years  following  their  contract  term  they  can  obtain  work  as 
free  hands  and  they  may  acquire  small  parcels  of  land.  In  fact 
many  of  them  have  become  land  owners  and  have  settled  per- 
manently in  the  colony.  There  are  also  a  considerable  number 
who,  after  having  gone  back  to  India,  return  to  British  Guiana 
of  their  own  volition  and  at  their  own  expense  to  work  as  free 
laborers. 

Most  of  the  sugar  plantations  are  found  on  the  seacoast  on 
lands  formerly  marshy  that  have  been  diked  and  drained  either 
by  sluices  or  by  pumping.  The  plantations  along  the  river 
banks,  too,  are  on  reclaimed  lands  that  have  been  drained  by 
sluices.  In  1911  there  were  160,000  acres  of  reclaimed  land  in 
the  colony,  and  81,000  acres  of  it  were  devoted  to  sugar  cane. 
The  plantations  are  oblong  in  shape,  one  end  fronting  on  the 
sea  or  the  river,  as  the  case  may  be.  Originally  they  varied  in 
size  from  500  to  1000  acres,  but  in  many  instances  consolidation 
has  taken  place.  The  dike  next  to  the  sea  is  naturally  the 
strongest  and  most  carefully  built,  while  those  at  the  sides  and 
rear  are  less  substantial.  As  a  rule,  there  is  a  broad  road  that 
runs  through  the  middle  of  the  plantation,  with  a  navigable 
canal  on  either  side.  These  canals  contain  fresh  water,  salt  wa- 
ter and  flood  waters  being  kept  out  by  a  gate  through  which  ex- 
cess fresh  water  may  run  off  at  low  tide.  Short  feeder  canals  run 
at  right  angles,  and  as  they  are  not  connected  with  the  drain- 
age canals  they  may  contain  salt  water  if  necessary.  In  cross- 
ing a  transportation  canal,  the  waters  of  drainage  canals  pass 
underneath  through  a  siphon.  Between  these  transportation 
canals  are  the  cane  fields,  from  ten  to  twenty  acres  in  size,  and 


268  HISTORICAL 

separated  from  one  another  by  small  drainage  ditches.  The 
largest  transportation  canals  are  between  sixteen  and  twenty 
feet  wide  at  the  top,  between  twelve  and  sixteen  feet  wide  at  the 
bottom  and  four  to  five  feet  deep.  The  smaller  transportation 
canals  are  twelve  feet  wide  at  the  top,  nine  feet  wide  at  the  bot- 
tom and  four  to  five  feet  deep.  The  large  drainage  canals  are 
fifteen  feet  wide  and  four  feet  deep,  and  the  irrigation  ditches 
are  from  two  to  three  feet  wide  and  three  feet  deep. 

Before  planting  cane  in  virgin  soil  the  trees  are  cut  down,  the 
ground  is  cleared  of  grass  and  weeds,  canals  are  dug,  furrows 
are  made  at  intervals  of  from  six  to  seven  feet,  and  then  the 
planting  is  done.  A  month  later  weeds  are  removed,  the  young 
shoots  are  banked  and  the  ground  between  the  furrows  is  loos- 
ened. When  five  months  old  the  cane  is  trashed1  and  weeding 
is  done  if  necessary.  After  an  interval  of  three  months  this 
operation  is  repeated,  and  when  the  cane  is  a  year  old  the  final 
trashing  is  done,  the  harvesting  following  two  weeks  after- 
ward. 

When  the  cane  has  been  cut,  the  ground  is  loosened  once 
more,  the  dry  leaves  are  put  in  the  spaces  between  the  furrows 
and  covered  with  earth,  the  young  cane  shoots  come  up,  and  in 
another  year  the  ratoons  are  ready  for  harvesting.  Two  or  three 
ratoon  crops  are  grown  on  the  same  land,  but  as  soon  as  the 
yield  gets  too  small  the  ground  is  left  fallow  and  planting  is 
done  elsewhere.  Until  recently  Bourbon  cane  was  the  only  vari- 
ety raised  in  British  Guiana.  Of  late,  however,  many  kinds  of 
seedling  cane  have  been  introduced,  and  today  it  is  estimated 
that  more  than  one-half  of  the  crop  comes  from  seedling  stock. 
Fertilizing  is  done  with  phosphates,  guano,  potash,  sulphate  of 
ammonia  and  stable  manure. 

The  cane  is  brought  from  the  fields  to  the  mills  by  canal  in 
flat-bottomed  boats.  The  equipment  in  the  factories  is  good,  as  a 

1  Trashing  is  the  stripping  of  dried  leaves  from  the  cane. 


BRITISH  GUIANA  269 

whole;  crushing  is  efficiently  done  and  the  juices  are  boiled  to 
grain  in  vacuum  pans. 

In  addition  to  96-degree  centrifugals  and  second  sugars,  the 
celebrated  "Demerara  crystals"  are  produced.  In  making  the 
latter  the  juice  is  kept  acid  throughout  the  process,  from  one  to 
five  per  cent  being  lost  through  inversion.  Chloride  of  tin  is 
added  in  the  vacuum  pan  to  heighten  the  yellow  color.  The 
greater  part  of  the  molasses  goes  into  the  manufacture  of  rum, 
and  a  certain  quantity,  mixed  with  ground  bagasse,  finds  a 
market  in  England  as  cattle  food. 

While  on  virgin  soil  the  yield  of  cane  runs  as  high  as  sixty  to 
seventy  tons  to  the  acre,  the  average  is  about  twenty  tons  per 
acre,  and  the  extraction  of  sugar  equals  8^4  per  cent  of  the 
weight  of  the  cane.  In  late  years  the  number  of  sugar  mills  has 
grown  less,  owing  to  the  merging  of  many  small  plants  into  a 
few  large  ones.  In  1908  the  area  planted  in  cane  was  73,471 
acres,  and  there  were  forty-two  plantations,  six  of  them  less 
than  1000  acres,  twenty-five  over  1000  acres,  six  over  2000 
acres,  four  over  3000  acres,  and  one  over  7000  acres  in  size. 

Over  half  of  the  sugar  exported  goes  to  Canada,  the  remain- 
der being  taken  by  Great  Britain  and  the  United  States. 

As  to  the  future  of  British  Guiana's  sugar  industry,  early  in 
1915  a  letter  was  sent  by  the  government  secretary  of  the  col- 
ony to  the  West  India  committee  in  London  in  which  it  is 
stated  that  the  possible  annual  crop  on  suitable  sugar  lands  east- 
ward of  thePomeroon  river  is  not  less  than  1,000,000 tons,  while, 
if  the  large  virgin  alluvial  areas  to  the  east  of  the  Pomeroon 
river  and  between  there  and  the  Venezuelan  boundary  were 
brought  under  cultivation,  the  maximum  total  output  might 
reach  2,500,000  tons  per  annum.  This  letter  was  in  reply  to  a 
communication  addressed  by  the  West  India  committee  to  the 
governors  of  all  of  the  British  sugar-growing  possessions  for 
the  purpose  of  securing  information  regarding  the  possibilities 


270  HISTORICAL 

of  development  of  the  industry.  Hitherto  the  United  Kingdom 
has  been  largely  dependent  upon  foreign  countries  for  its  sugar 
supply,  and  the  movement  thus  set  on  foot  by  the  West  India 
committee  is  to  urge  upon  the  home  government  the  import- 
ance of  drawing  the  entire  sugar  requirements  of  the  country 
from  its  colonies.  This  of  course  would  mean  the  establishment 
of  a  preferential  tariff. 

Exports  from  British  Guiana  since  1895,  in  tons  of  2240 
pounds : 


1895-96 

101,059 

1905-06 

121,693 

1896-97 

107,073 

1906-07 

120,334 

1897-98 

100,839 

1907-08 

99,737 

1898-99 

96,648 

1908-09 

117,176 

1899-0x5 

84,783 

1909-10 

101,843 

1900-01 

94,745 

1910-11 

108,297 

1901-02 

105,694 

1911-12 

83,294 

1902-03 

120,127 

1912-13 

83,922 

1903-04 

125,949 

1913-14 

103,774 

1904-05 

101,278 

1914-15 

113,632 

1915-16 

IIOjOOO1 

Estimated. 


ARGENTINA 

THE  Argentine  republic  occupies  the  southeastern  ex- 
tremity of  South  America,  and  extends  from  21  degrees 
55  minutes  to  55  degrees  2  minutes  south  latitude,  and 
from  53  degrees  40  minutes  to  73  degrees  17  minutes  west 
longitude.  From  north  to  south  its  length  is  2285  miles,  and  its 
greatest  width  is  930  miles.  Its  area  is  1,135,840'  square  miles, 
and  the  population,  including  the  nomadic  peoples,  numbers 
about  8,000,000. 

Physically,  the  surface  of  the  country  comprises  three  great 
divisions :  the  Andes  and  the  high  plateaus  to  the  west,  the  vast 
plains  of  the  east  and  the  desolate,  barren  wastes  of  Patagonia. 
Only  the  northern  part  lies  within  the  latitudes  where  sugar 
cane  can  be  grown,  and  owing  to  the  mountainous  character  of 
that  region  the  area  available  for  cane  culture  is  limited.  The 
provinces  of  Tucuman,  Jujuy,  Salta,  Santa  Fe  and  Corrientes, 
and  the  territories  of  Formosa,  Chaco  and  Missiones  produce 
the  entire  sugar  crop. 

Argentina's  great  length  and  the  range  of  altitude  within  her 
borders,  from  the  lofty,  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Andes  eastward 
to  sea-level,  give  a  widely  varied  climate,  upon  which  the  pre- 
vailing winds  and  the  mountain  barriers  exert  a  further  influ- 
ence. In  the  extreme  north  there  is  a  stretch  of  country  extend- 
ing about  ninety  miles  into  the  torrid  zone  and  running  from 
the  Pilcomayo  river,  five  hundred  miles  west,  to  the  Chilean 
border.  The  eastern  part  of  this  region  consists  of  a  low,  wood- 
ed plain  where  the  mean  annual  temperature  is  73  degrees  Fah- 
renheit and  the  average  annual  rainfall  is  63  inches.  The  west- 

1  Century  Atlas— A  recent  private  report  (1915)  gives  1,856,254  sq.  miles. 


272  HISTORICAL 

ern  end  is  a  dry  plateau  where  the  temperature  drops  below  57 
degrees  Fahrenheit  and  the  rainfall  is  only  about  two  inches 
during  the  year.  In  the  cane-growing  district  the  rainy  season 
is  from  October  to  March.  At  times  during  the  winter  the  frost 
is  severe  enough  to  partially  wither  the  cane  leaves,  but  it  never 
wholly  kills  the  cane. 

Sugar  cane  was  brought  to  the  La  Plata  region  by  the  Jesu- 
its, and  it  appears  in  the  records  of  the  Santo  Domingo  monas- 
tery that  sugar  was  manufactured  in  Tucuman  as  early  as  1670. 
After  the  banishment  of  the  Jesuits  nearly  one  hundred  years 
later,  the  industry  quickly  declined,  in  fact  as  late  as  1871  the 
total  production  of  Argentina  did  not  exceed  1000  tons.  Devel- 
opment in  Tucuman  followed  the  completion  of  the  railway, 
which  opened  outside  markets  to  the  planters  of  the  province  in 
1876.  Railway  transportation  facilities  brought  in  modern  fac- 
tory equipment  and  machinery.  As  a  result  numerous  small 
primitive  mills  were  eliminated  and  their  owners  turned  to 
sugar-cane  growing. 

Stimulated  by  a  heavy  protective  tariff,  the  cane-producing 
area  in  Tucuman  increased  from  12,000  to  104,000  acres  be- 
tween 1881  and  1896,  and  in  other  provinces  the  industry  made 
substantial  progress.  By  1894  the  output  exceeded  the  coun- 
try's requirements.  This  led  the  government  to  concede  an  ex- 
port bounty  in  1896,  and  a  syndicate  called  the  Union  Azuca- 
rera  was  formed  by  the  producers,  who  agreed  to  deliver  to  it 
60  per  cent  of  their  product.  From  1896  to  1904  exports  of  sugar 
varied  from  15,000  to  50,000  tons  per  annum.  Conditions 
changed,  however.  The  other  South  American  countries  would 
not  buy  Argentine  sugar,  the  United  States  had  fixed  a  coun- 
tervailing duty  on  all  bounty-fed  sugars,  and  Great  Britain 
was  contemplating  their  exclusion  entirely.  To  save  the  situa- 
tion, therefore,  it  was  decided  to  curtail  the  output,  and  the  fol- 
lowing plan  was  adopted: 


ARGENTINA  273 

An  arbitrary  amount  was  fixed  as  the  total  production  of  the 
factories  in  operation,  and  this  tonnage  was  prorated  among 
them  according  to  their  capacity.  Upon  every  100  kilograms 
(220.46  Ibs.)  produced  in  excess  of  the  allotment,  a  tax  equiva- 
lent to  48^4  cents1  was  levied,  and  factories  where  operations 
were  not  started  until  after  the  passage  of  the  law  were  taxed 
at  this  rate  upon  25  per  cent  of  their  output.  The  fund  raised  in 
this  way  furnished  the  compensation  for  the  growers  who  de- 
stroyed their  cane  crops  or  left  them  unharvested.  A  certain 
sum  was  applied  to  the  payment  of  export  bounty2  and  the  re- 
mainder went  into  the  national  treasury. 

The  Brussels  convention,  by  its  provision  for  countervailing 
duties,  nullified  the  effect  of  the  export  bounty  and  in  1905  the 
export  privileges  were  withdrawn. 

In  1912  the  import  duty  was  established  at  3.85  cents  gold  per 
pound  for  96-degree  sugars  and  2.977  cents  Per  pound  for  sugars 
testing  under  96  degrees.  A  yearly  reduction  of  about  one- 
tenth  of  a  cent  per  pound  was  provided  for  until  the  rate  of  96- 
degree  sugars  shall  reach  3.0645  cents  per  pound,  and  that  for 
those  under  96  degrees  2.19  cents.  Countervailing  duties  were 
also  imposed  on  foreign  bounty-fed  sugars. 

Tucuman  produces  between  80  per  cent  and  85  per  cent  of 
Argentina's  total  crop,  the  remainder  coming  largely  from 


From  the  "Boletin  Mensual  de  Estadistica  Agricola,"  Buenos 
Aires,  August,  1913,  the  following  figures  are  taken: 

RAW  SUGAR  YIELD 

PROVINCES  NO.  OF  FACTORIES  TONS  PERCENT 

Tucuman  28  121,551  6.8 

Salta  i  1,290  8.9 

Jujuy  3  20,052  7.9 

1  All  figures  given  in  dollars  and  cents  are  United  States  money.  *  16  centavos,  paper, 

per  kilogram,  or  7%  cents  per  pound. 


274 


HISTORICAL 

RAW  SUGAR  YIELD 

PROVINCES  NO.  OF  FACTORIES  TONS  PER  CENT 

Chaco  3  2,762  5.9 

Formosa  i  231  6.0 

Santa  Fe  2  838  6.3 

Corrientes  i  525  6.6 


39  147,249  6.9 

At  the  present  time,  Argentina  has  over  200,000  acres  in 
sugar  cane,  and  this  area  can  be  considerably  increased.  The 
present  production  about  takes  care  of  the  country's  needs,  al- 
though a  round  amount  of  American  refined  sugar  was  import- 
ed in  the  latter  part  of  1916. 

Field  methods  admit  of  great  improvement.  Little  care  is  ex- 
ercised in  the  selection  of  seed  cane  and  disinfection  is  never 
practiced.  Planting  is  done  in  September  and  October,  when  the 
rainy  season  sets  in.  Irrigation  from  rivers  and  streams  is  the 
rule;  fertilizers  are  seldom  used,  and  no  preventive  measures 
are  adopted  to  combat  diseases  of  the  cane.  The  yield  of  cane 
per  acre  in  poor  soil  is  from  nine  to  fifteen  tons,  in  average  soil 
from  eleven  to  seventeen  tons,  while  on  the  best  lands  it  is 
eighteen  tons. 

Ratoon  crops  are  raised  fifteen  or  more  years  in  succession 
without  replanting,  and  the  period  between  frosts  is  too  short 
to  admit  of  the  cane  reaching  maturity. 

Grinding  is  begun  about  June  ist  and  usually  takes  one  hun- 
dred days,  depending,  naturally,  upon  the  amount  of  cane  to  be 
crushed. 

The  factories  are  modern  and  equipped  with  machinery  and 
apparatus  of  the  latest  type,  but  notwithstanding  this  the  re- 
covery of  sugar  is  poor,  owing  to  the  quality  of  the  cane.  In 
1911  the  average  extraction  obtained  by  the  factories  of  Tucu- 
man  was  7.65  per  cent.  A  few  factories  make  white  sugar  for 


ARGENTINA  275 

direct  consumption,  but  the  great  part  of  the  output  consists  of 
raw  centrifugal  sugar,  which  is  subsequently  refined.  Most  of 
Argentina's  refined  sugar  is  produced  by  the  Refineria  Argen- 
tina of  Rosario. 

Argentina's  sugar  industry  could  not  live  without  a  protec- 
tive tariff,  on  account  of  the  high  cost  of  production,  which 
even  in  the  best  factories  is  about  4/4  cents  gold  per  pound. 
There  is  no  chance  to  build  up  an  export  business  now,  so,  un- 
less conditions  change,  the  production  must  adjust  itself  to  take 
care  of  the  consumption  and  no  more. 

The  statistics  from  1906  to  1915  are  in  long  tons: 

PRODUCTION  IMPORTS 

RAW  RAW  REFINED 

1906  114,426  646  1,260 

1907  107,694  31,434  11,391 

1908  157,845  10,648  24,271 

1909  121,891  I3>546  5>898 

1910  H6,472  33*542  22,342 

1911  I77*2H  17,866  33*206 

1912  147,731     18,728     10,866 

1913  275,834     25,081     49,094 

1914  330,460       154      6,250 

1915  149,864  I  22 


FORMOSA 

THE  Japanese  island  of  Formosa  (Taiwan)  lies  off  the 
coast  of  China,  about  two  hundred  miles  north  of  the 
Philippines,  between  21  degrees  45  minutes  and  25  de- 
grees 38  minutes  north  .latitude  and  120  degrees  10  minutes 
and  122  degrees  east  longitude.  It  is  about  two  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  long  and  narrow  in  shape;  its  width  is 
seventy-seven  miles  and  its  total  area  13,504  square  miles.  A 
range  of  mountains  runs  from  north  to  south,  and  the  highest 
peak  is  13,600  feet.  The  mountainous  region  is  rugged  and  well 
wooded,  but  in  the  southwestern  part  there  is  a  fertile  plain 
which  is  very  productive.  Rice,  tea  and  sugar  are  grown  pretty 
much  all  along  the  western  portion  of  the  island. 

In  the  west,  too,  are  found  the  best  seaports  and  bays,  also 
the  most  important  towns.  In  1905  Formosa  had  about  3,000,- 
ooo  inhabitants,  nearly  all  of  whom  were  Chinese. 

The  climate  is  tropical,  and  at  sea-level  the  average  tempera- 
ture in  July,  which  is  the  hottest  month,  is  about  72  degrees 
Fahrenheit,  while  in  February,  the  coldest  month,  the  mean  is 
5 1. 6  degrees. 

Sugar  has  been  known  in  the  island  for  a  great  many  years. 
There  is  a  record  of  a  shipment  having  been  made  from  there  to 
the  Netherlands  as  far  back  as  1622,  from  which  time  the  trade 
was  carried  on  until  the  competition  of  the  West  Indies  closed 
the  European  markets  to  Formosan  sugars.  Nevertheless,  the 
industry  prospered  and  the  production  grew  until  during  the 
last  years  of  Chinese  rule  it  amounted  to  something  between 
60,000  and  80,000  tons  annually.  Nearly  all  of  this  was  soft 
brown  sugar  of  fine  grain,  the  remainder  being  a  so-called  white 


FORMOSA  277 

sugar,  made  by  purging  the  brown  sugar  crystals  of  their 
syrup. 

The  island  was  seized  by  Japan  in  1895,  but  the  Formosans 
made  a  stubborn  resistance  to  the  invaders,  and  it  was  not  until 
1898  that  they  were  finally  subdued  and  a  stable  government 
established  by  the  Japanese.  An  insurrection  broke  out  in  1902, 
but  was  quickly  put  down,  and  since  then  there  has  been  no  fur- 
ther trouble. 

In  1895  Formosa  had  something  near  one  thousand  small 
mills,  all  driven  by  buffaloes.  The  product  was  a  brown  clayed 
sugar,  similar  to  that  made  in  the  Philippines,  and  one-half  of 
it  was  consumed  locally,  the  other  half  going  to  China  and 
Japan. 

After  the  subjugation  of  Formosa  in  1898,  the  Japanese  were 
not  immediately  able  to  set  about  repairing  the  damage  caused 
by  the  war.  Two  years  later,  however,  they  took  up  the  task 
with  characteristic  energy  and  thoroughness,  and  the  sugar  in- 
dustry soon  felt  the  effects  of  the  movement.  In  1902  measures 
were  passed  providing  for  the  establishment  of  a  sugar  station 
at  Tainan  and  for  the  investigation  of  all  questions  relating  to 
the  industry.  Young  Japanese  students  were  sent  to  Java,  Ha- 
waii and  Europe  to  look  into  methods  employed  in  the  cultiva- 
tion and  manufacture  of  sugar  in  those  countries  and  to  deter- 
mine by  careful  observation  and  study  what  would  be  best  suit- 
ed to  Formosan  conditions.  Seed  cane  was  brought  in  from 
other  countries  and  comparisons  of  results  obtained  from  the 
different  plantings  were  made  at  an  experiment  station  built  by 
the  government  at  Daimokko.  Striped  Tanna  and  Lahaina 
canes  throve  well,  but  they  were  rejected  because  they  required 
an  extraordinary  amount  of  irrigation  and  constant  care.  The 
Rose  Bamboo,  on  the  other  hand,  was  hardier  and  did  not  need 
so  much  water,  consequently  the  experts  at  the  sugar  station 
did  everything  they  possibly  could  to  encourage  its  use. 


278  HISTORICAL 

At  the  same  time  the  government  offered  companies  starting 
sugar  refineries  a  bonus  of  six  per  cent  per  annum  for  five  years 
on  the  paid-up  capital,  or  a  single  bonus  of  twenty  per  cent  of 
the  value  of  the  plant  and  equipment.  Other  enterprises  were 
supplied  with  machinery  by  the  government  for  five  years;  in 
other  words,  the  machinery  was  bought  with  government 
money  and  the  sugar  company  was  given  five  years  in  which  to 
reimburse  the  government.  Cane  lands  could  be  acquired  on 
very  favorable  terms,  and  any  planter  who  was  willing  to  bind 
himself  to  raise  a  crop  of  cane  for  five  consecutive  years  was 
supplied  with  fertilizer  by  the  government,  free  of  cost.  These 
privileges  remained  open  until  the  early  part  of  1911,  when  they 
were  abrogated. 

About  the  first  enterprise  to  receive  the  benefit  of  this  special 
legislation  was  the  Taiwan  Sugar  company,  incorporated  in 
1900  with  a  paid-in  capital  of  500,000  yen,  which  carried  a 
bonus  of  30,000  yen  from  the  government.  The  company's  in- 
tention was  to  buy  the  cane  from  the  growers  and  make  it  into 
sugar  for  the  Japanese  market.  The  factory  was  ready  for 
business  by  the  fall  of  the  following  year,  but  as  soon  as  grind- 
ing was  begun  the  Chinese  farmers  manifested  a  decided  un- 
willingness to  furnish  cane.  As  a  consequence,  the  sugar  com- 
pany determined  to  grow  its  own  cane,  and  after  increasing 
its  capital  to  1,000,000  yen  proceeded  to  carry  out  this  plan. 
Arrangements  were  made  to  turn  out  30  tons  of  sugar  per  day 
during  the  grinding  period  of  150  days,  but  the  first  year's  re- 
sults were  only  1200  tons. 

Two  factories  near  Tainan  owned  by  Chinese  were  started 
about  this  time  at  the  instigation  of  the  government,  and  also 
with  its  assistance.  Unfortunately,  the  operators  did  not  un- 
derstand how  to  use  the  modern  equipment  furnished  them  by 
the  authorities.  Further  trouble  arose  in  connection  with  the 
buying  of  the  cane  and  there  was  constant  friction  between 


FORMOSA  279 

the  factories  and  the  government  experts  at  the  sugar  bureau. 
So  the  venture  proved  far  from  profitable  either  to  the  fac- 
tories or  the  industry. 

The  Chinese  growers  continued  to  cling  tenaciously  to  their 
crude  method  of  grinding  cane  in  their  buffalo-driven  mills, 
instead  of  selling  it  to  the  factories,  and  they  obstinately  re- 
fused to  plant  the  new  and  more  productive  variety  of  cane, 
Rose  Bamboo,  imported  from  the  Hawaiian  islands  by  the  gov- 
ernment for  seed  purposes — this  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  cane 
tops  for  planting  could  be  obtained  gratis  at  the  sugar  station, 
and  that  the  substitution  of  the  better  cane  entitled  the  farmer 
to  free  fertilizer,  irrigation  privileges  and  a  money  bonus. 

It  was  plain  that  the  government  would  have  to  take  more 
vigorous  action  to  save  its  sugar  program  for  Formosa  from 
complete  failure,  so  in  1905  new  regulations  were  framed  and 
made  public.  Under  these  rules  no  one  could  embark  in  the 
business  of  manufacturing  sugar  without  first  securing  the 
official  sanction  of  the  director  of  the  sugar  bureau.  A  fixed 
territory  was  assigned  to  the  newcomer  with  the  express  un- 
derstanding that  no  other  factory  could  be  established  there 
and  that  all  the  cane  growers  in  the  territory  were  obligated 
to  sell  their  cane  to  the  factory  and  forbidden  to  send  it  out  of 
the  district  or  put  it  to  any  other  use.  The  factory  owner  on  his 
side  bound  himself  to  take  all  the  cane  grown  in  his  district, 
even  if  the  supply  should  be  greater  than  his  needs.  In  order  to 
stimulate  modern  methods  of  manufacture,  the  sugar  bureau 
prohibited  the  grinding  of  cane  by  the  growers  in  their  buffalo 
mills,  except  by  special  permission. 

In  certain  sections  of  the  island  where  there  was  no  cane 
cultivation,  large  tracts  of  land  might  be  granted  outright  to 
persons  engaging  in  sugar  raising  and  manufacture.  In  such 
cases  the  capacity  of  the  factory  and  the  period  of  operation 
was  agreed  upon  in  advance,  and  as  soon  as  the  land  was 


280  HISTORICAL 

planted  to  cane,  the  title  to  it  passed  to  the  factory.  If,  how- 
ever, the  owners  of  the  factory  failed  to  act  in  good  faith,  the 
undertaking  was  declared  void  and  the  factory  dismantled. 

By  1911  twenty-nine  large  factories  were  in  operation  and 
nine  others  were  being  built.  Every  one  of  these  establishments 
was  new  and  equipped  with  the  latest  and  most  improved 
machinery. 

It  was  officially  announced  in  November,  1910,  that  no  fur- 
ther charters  authorizing  the  forming  of  new  sugar  companies 
or  the  extending  of  the  operations  of  those  already  in  exist- 
ence would  be  issued,  the  reason  given  being  the  desire  to  limit 
the  production  to  the  requirements  of  Japan  until  such  a  time 
as  an  outlet  could  be  found  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  The 
measure  was  regarded  as  a  temporary  one. 

The  opposition  of  the  native  farmer  to  the  new  order  of 
things  was  not  overcome  at  once.  Cane  plantings  decreased  at 
first,  but  when  the  natives  realized  that  cane  paid  them  better 
than  other  crops,  they  gradually  resumed  cultivating  it  on  the 
same  scale  as  formerly,  and  the  government  bonus  on  Rose 
Bamboo  cane  helped  matters  still  further. 

As  long  as  the  manufacturers  are  far-seeing  enough  to  pay 
the  grower  a  fair  figure  for  his  cane,  the  supply  will  be  forth- 
coming. Conversely,  if  too  low  a  price  is  offered,  the  farmer 
will  be  driven  to  raise  other  crops,  and,  as  the  factory  cannot 
purchase  cane  outside  of  its  own  district,  lack  of  material  will 
prevent  it  from  running  at  full  capacity,  which  means  a  heavy 
loss.  So  there  is  an  excellent  reason  for  maintaining  the  price 
of  cane  at  a  point  which  enables  the  grower  to  make  a  profit. 
Another  potent  factor,  too,  is  that  the  price  must  receive  the 
approval  of  the  government.  It  is  significant  that  the  factories 
built  between  1907  and  1911  have  all  been  put  up  without  gov- 
ernment aid. 

Irrigation  in  Formosa  has  not  been  developed  to  any  extent 


FORMOSA 


281 


and  the  crop  depends  upon  the  rainfall.  In  the  southern  part  of 
the  island  the  monsoons  are  fairly  regular  and  plentiful  rains 
can  be  counted  upon  between  June  and  September,  with  a  dry 
period  from  November  to  April.  In  the  north  climatic  condi- 
tions are  not  so  good,  and  consequently  all  of  the  large  sugar 
enterprises  are  to  be  found  in  the  south.  Ploughing  by  the  na- 
tives is  poorly  done  with  wooden  ploughs,  but  the  modern  plan- 
tations use  steam  ploughs  with  excellent  results.  Cane  is  plant- 
ed every  year  and  there  are  no  ratoon  crops.  Grinding  usually 
takes  150  days,  beginning  in  November  and  ending  in  May. 

The  old-fashioned  mills  turn  out  a  soft  brown  or  yellowish 
white,  open-pan  sugar.  The  modern  plants  make  centrifugal 
sugar  only,  practically  all  of  which  goes  to  Japan,  although 
shipments  have  been  made  to  China,  Korea,  Hong  Kong  and 
even  Canada.  The  molasses  is  consumed  at  home. 

Just  how  much  of  the  open-pan  brown  sugar  is  used  in  For- 
mosa itself  it  is  impossible  to  determine,  but  Willett  &  Gray's 
figures  for  the  crops,  by  years,  since  1901  clearly  show  what 
strides  the  industry  has  made: 


1901-02  48,381  long  tons       1909-10 

1902-03  34,769  "  1910-11 

1903-04  60,650  "  "          1911-12 

1904-05  50,276  "  i9I2-J3 

1905-06  64,190  i9I3-I4 

1906-07  81,448  "  "         1914-15 

1907-08  68,450  "  "         1915-16 

1908-09  122,000  "  "         1916-17 


205,000  long  tons 

267,000  " 

173,224  "        " 

113,100  " 

190,000  " 

186,000  " 

290,953  "        " 
338,997'    "       " 


The  crop  of  1911-12  suffered  severely  from  prolonged 
drought  at  planting  time,  and  the  typhoons  of  August,  1911, 
devastated  the  cane  fields.  The  effect  of  this  disaster  was  to 
deter  the  natives  from  planting  cane  the  following  year,  and  in 

1  Estimated. 


282  HISTORICAL 

consequence  the  production  for  that  season  was  cut  down  more 
than  fifty  per  cent. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  rapid  development  in  Formosa  has  been 
brought  about  by  the  paternal  policy  of  the  government,  with- 
out whose  powerful  aid  the  industry  would  in  all  probability 
have  made  but  slow  progress.  The  total  of  Japan's  sugar  con- 
sumption is  about  300,000  tons  per  annum,  and  it  is  perhaps 
safe  to  hazard  the  guess  that  her  statesmen  will  do  everything 
they  can  in  reason  to  encourage  production  in  her  own  terri- 
tory until  this  quantity  shall  have  been  reached.1 

1  Since  the  foregoing  was  written  Formosa's  production  has  passed  the  3oo,ooo-ton  mark, 
as  will  be  seen  by  the  table  on  page  281. 


JAVA 

JAVA,  the  seat  of  the  colonial  government  of  the  Dutch 
East  Indies,  lies  in  the  Indian  ocean  south  of  Sumatra  and 
Borneo,  between  105  degrees  12  minutes  and  114  degrees 
35  minutes  east  longitude,  and  between  5  degrees  52  minutes 
and  8  degrees  46  minutes  south  latitude.  It  is  622  miles  long 
and  121  miles  wide  at  its  greatest  breadth,  and  this  narrows  to 
about  55  miles  toward  the  middle  of  the  island.  The  area  of  Java 
proper  is  48,504  square  miles,  Madura  comprises  1732  square 
miles  and  the  smaller  islands  under  Javan  jurisdiction  cover 
1416  square  miles. 

Of  the  three  general  divisions  of  Java,  the  east,  the  middle 
and  the  west,  each  has  certain  structural  features  of  its  own. 
In  west  Java  the  highlands  lie  to  the  south  and  the  lowlands  to 
the  north.  Middle  Java  takes  in  the  isthmus  and  part  of  the 
wide  eastern  portion.  In  the  isthmus  the  mountain  barrier  on 
the  south  is  less  regular  and  the  northern  plains  are  broken  to  a 
certain  extent.  The  eastern  division  is  made  up  of  an  intricate 
confusion  of  hills  and  valleys,  except  on  the  south  coast,  where 
the  mountain  range  forms  a  continuous  barrier.  The  shore  line 
of  the  north  coast  is  low  everywhere,  with  morasses,  sand 
dunes  and  shifting  river  mouths,  but  it  is  of  much  greater  im- 
portance than  the  south  coast,  which  is  steep,  at  intervals  rocky 
and  constantly  battered  by  a  violent  surf. 

Java  is  one  of  the  most  distinctly  volcanic  regions  of  the 
world — it  has  fourteen  active  volcanoes  and  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  recognized  volcanic  centers. 

Both  the  north  and  south  coast  lines  are  broken  by  rivers, 
the  principal  ones  being  on  the  north.  In  the  dry  season  they 


284  HISTORICAL 

contain  little  water,  but  during  the  rainy  monsoon1  they  fre- 
quently become  rushing  torrents  that  burst  their  banks  and 
overflow  the  surrounding  country.  Such  inundations  carry  with 
them  a  considerable  amount  of  disintegrated  volcanic  rock, 
part  of  which  is  deposited  on  the  plains  and  swept  seaward.  In 
this  manner  the  alluvial  plains  near  the  river  courses  are  formed 
and  the  shoals  in  the  harbors  and  at  the  river  mouths  as  well. 

Java  enjoys  a  comparatively  even  temperature  the  year 
round.  Ninety-six  degrees  Fahrenheit  was  recorded  in  Batavia 
in  1877  and  that  is  the  highest  mark  known.  The  lowest  was 
66  degrees  Fahrenheit,  which  was  experienced  in  the  same 
place  in  the  same  year.  The  mean  annual  temperature  is  79 
degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  the  difference  between  the  warmest 
and  the  coldest  months  is  1.8  degrees  Fahrenheit.  The  year  is 
divided  into  two  seasons  by  the  prevailing  winds — the  rainy 
period,  that  of  the  wet  monsoon,  from  November  to  March, 
and  the  dry  period  the  remainder  of  the  year,  when  the  dry 
monsoon  blows.  There  is  no  long  unbroken  rainfall  and  no  long 
spell  of  drought.  The  average  rainfall  is  much  greater  on  the 
south  coast  than  on  the  north:  in  Batavia  it  is  72.28  inches 
yearly,  while  Majalenka  has  an  annual  fall  of  175  inches.  Wind- 
storms are  rare  and  hardly  ever  cyclonic,  but  thunderstorms 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.  Under  an  almost  vertical  sun,  the 
day  is  of  nearly  uniform  length  throughout  the  year. 

The  plains  vary  in  fertility  according  to  their  geological  for- 
mation, but  with  the  exception  of  the  regions  abounding  in 
marshes,  stretches  of  disintegrated  coral,  and  lakes,  they  are 
tillable  and  productive. 

Sugar  cane  was  brought  to  Java  by  the  Chinese  or  Hindus 
in  very  remote  times.  The  Chinese  pilgrim  Fa  Hien  mentions 
having  found  sugar  there  when  he  visited  the  island  in  424,2and 
as  trading  was  constantly  carried  on  between  Arabia,  India, 

1  Asiatic  trade  wind.        a  Geerligs. 


JAVA  285 

China  and  Java,  there  is  but  little  doubt  that  when  the  secret 
of  boiling  the  sugar  juice  to  a  grain  was  discovered  it  became 
known  to  all  of  them  at  once. 

About  1520  the  Portuguese  established  trade  relations  with 
the  natives  and  early  in  the  seventeenth  century  the  Dutch  in- 
fluence began  to  make  itself  felt.  The  Dutch  East  India  com- 
pany built  forts  and  set  up  trading  stations  in  the  coast  towns ; 
at  first  it  acquired  only  small  pieces  of  land  in  Jakatra  (Ba- 
tavia)  and  it  was  some  time  before  its  holdings  were  increased. 
Finally  Jakatra  was  conquered  and  the  Dutch  power  in  Java 
firmly  established.  But  little  was  done  at  the  outset  to  help  the 
sugar  industry,  as  the  policy  of  the  Dutch  East  India  company 
was  to  foster  trade  in  the  products  of  the  East  rather  than  un- 
dertake to  raise  any  of  the  commodities  itself.  The  sugars  that 
were  sent  by  it  to  the  mother  country  at  the  beginning  of  its 
operations,  therefore,  came  from  China,  Formosa,  Siam  and 
Bengal,  and  no  Javan  sugars  reached  Holland  until  after  1637, 
in  which  year  the  company  decided  to  establish  sugar  mills  on 
its  own  land  near  Batavia. 

It  also  parceled  out  land  to  Chinese  sugar  growers  and 
granted  them  special  concessions  in  consideration  of  the  entire 
product  of  the  land  being  sold  to  the  company  at  an  agreed 
figure.  Prices  and  terms  changed  from  year  to  year,  however, 
and  much  confusion  and  dissatisfaction  resulted.  War,  cane 
pests,  cattle  diseases  and  labor  troubles  still  further  compli- 
cated the  situation.  In  1648  the  company's  plantations  pro- 
duced 124  tons  and  in  1652  the  outturn  was  723  tons.  The  in- 
crease in  West  Indian  production  hurt  the  Javan  factories  and 
the  war  in  Bantam  in  1660  stopped  development.  In  1652, 
twenty  mills  were  running,  but  in  1660  half  of  the  number  had 
closed.  Peace  with  Bantam  was  concluded  in  1684  and  matters 
then  began  to  improve.  By  1710,  one  hundred  and  thirty  mills 
were  in  operation  and  the  industry  was  extended  to  Bantam, 


286  HISTORICAL 

Cheribon  and  Japara.  The  policy  of  the  company,  however,  was 
to  restrict  production  so  as  to  keep  up  prices,  and  to  this  end 
it  prohibited  the  erection  of  any  new  mills  and  limited  the  out- 
put of  those  that  were  running  to  eighteen  tons  per  annum 
each,  thus  fixing  a  maximum  total  of  2340  tons.  This  amount 
was  not  realized,  however,  as  the  number  of  factories  decreased 
until  in  1745  only  sixty-five  were  in  operation  in  the  territory 
near  Batavia.  The  company  then  decided  to  raise  the  number  to 
seventy,  and  five  years  later  it  added  ten  more.  As  years  went 
on  the  number  of  factories  diminished,  but  their  capacity  in- 
creased, and  in  1779  fifty-five  mills  furnished  6176  tons  of  sugar 
to  the  company. 

The  Dutch  East  India  company  was  dissolved  in  1795  and 
the  Dutch  interests  in  Java  passed  under  the  control  of  the 
Batavian  republic,1  afterward  the  kingdom  of  Holland,  which 
was  brought  under  French  rule  when  Holland  fell  into  the 
hands  of  Napoleon.  In  1811  it  was  seized  by  England  and  was 
finally  restored  to  Holland  in  1816. 

All  this  time  the  regulations  governing  the  sugar  industry 
were  being  constantly  changed.  The  producers  had  always  been 
at  loggerheads  with  the  company,  for  while  they  were  bound  to 
deliver  their  entire  output  to  the  company,  it  did  not  consider 
itself  obligated  to  take  delivery  of  any  definite  amount.  This 
left  the  planters  in  a  very  unsatisfactory  position,  as  they  could 
never  look  ahead  with  any  degree  of  certainty.  At  length  a  law 
was  passed  in  1797  calling  upon  the  factories  near  Batavia  to 
produce  2810  short  tons  yearly  for  the  government,  with  the 
privilege  to  them  to  dispose  of  any  sugars  made  in  excess  of 
this  amount  for  their  own  account.  A  similar  law  affecting  the 
factories  on  the  north  and  east  coasts  was  proposed.  In  this  ter- 
ritory there  were  thirty-one  factories  in  1794  with  a  capacity  of 
1000  tons,  which  quantity  it  was  proposed  to  increase  to  2000 

1  Formed  by  France  out  of  the  Netherlands  in  1795.  It  existed  until  1806. 


JAVA  287 

tons  for  delivery  to  the  government  and  500  tons  for  sales  for 
account  of  the  producers.  In  furtherance  of  this  plan,  the  mill 
owners  were  to  be  granted  tracts  of  new  cane  land  and  the 
government  was  to  make  cash  advances  up  to  50  per  cent  of  the 
estimated  value  of  the  growing  crop.  These  propositions  were 
never  carried  into  effect,  and  a  production  of  1000  tons  per  an- 
num remained  the  maximum  for  that  section  of  the  country. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Batavia,  however,  the  measure  was  a  suc- 
cess, especially  as  the  government  encouraged  the  manufactur- 
ers by  increased  advances  and  by  supporting  prices.  The  result 
was  that  during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
production  grew,  but  a  sharp  decline  came  in  1811-13,  and  in 
the  latter  year  the  total  production  of  Java  fell  to  about  600 
tons. 

The  causes  were  not  hard  to  find.  Holland  was  dominated  by 
France  and  sea  traffic  was  blocked  by  the  British,  so  that  Java 
had  to  keep  her  sugar  in  storage  at  home.  Nevertheless,  the 
government  continued  to  encourage  the  production  in  the  hope 
of  an  early  peace  and  so  that  the  industry  might  not  die  out. 
Each  year,  therefore,  added  to  the  government's  stocks  of 
sugar  until  the  amount  became  burdensome  for  financial  rea- 
sons, and  the  traditional  policy  of  the  government  was  aban- 
doned. Manufacturers  were  allowed  to  dispose  of  their  sugars 
freely  and  without  restriction,  but  unfortunately  the  privilege 
was  granted  at  a  time  when  it  was  impossible  to  sell  and  the 
British  occupation  of  Java  did  not  mend  matters. 

When  Java  was  restored  to  Holland  in  1816,  the  new  govern- 
ment continued  the  freedom  of  the  industry,  but  it  had  received 
so  severe  a  check  that  to  revive  it  was  a  difficult  matter.  In  1826 
the  output  was  1220  tons,  and  in  this  year  the  authorities. re- 
newed the  system  of  making  advances  and  stimulated  growth 
and  manufacture,  so  that  in  1830  the  production  had  increased 
to  6700  tons. 


288  HISTORICAL 

That  same  year  a  new  governor-general,  van  den  Bosch,  was 
appointed.  He  was  entrusted  with  the  task  of  making  the 
island  a  producer  of  the  commodities  required  by  the  mother 
country  and  was  given  a  free  hand  as  to  the  means  to  be  em- 
ployed in  accomplishing  his  purpose.  The  plan  he  put  into 
effect  was  known  as  the  "Cultural  System"  and  its  principal 
features  were  as  follows : 

In  the  districts  adapted  to  sugar  cultivation,  the  natives  were 
to  contribute  one-third  of  their  arable  land  to  be  planted  in 
cane  as  required.  The  natives  were  to  till  the  fields,  supply  fuel 
and  cattle  for  ploughing  and  transportation,  and  in  considera- 
tion of  this  they  were  exempted  from  the  free  service  due  from 
them  by  law  to  the  state.  Payment  for  labor  was  to  be  made  out 
of  the  proceeds  of  the  crops  after  deducting  the  land  tax. 

The  crushing  of  the  cane  and  its  manufacture  into  sugar  was 
done  under  contract  by  private  individuals  who  were  assisted 
by  government  money  in  the  building  of  factories.  The  contrac- 
tors turned  over  the  sugar  to  the  government  at  a  fixed  rate,  at 
the  same  time  repaying  the  money  advanced  to  them. 

At  the  outset  there  was  next  to  no  profit  for  either  the  gov- 
ernment or  the  producers,  in  fact  the  first  few  years  showed  an 
actual  loss,  so  that  it  became  a  hard  matter  to  induce  anyone  to 
undertake  the  manufacture  of  sugar  on  a  contract  basis.  This 
led  to  a  modification  of  the  regulations  and  the  manufacturers 
were  permitted  to  sell  a  part  of  their  output  on  their  own  ac- 
count. In  this  way  their  interest  was  stimulated  and  there  was 
a  change  for  the  better,  attended  by  a  profit  both  for  the  pro- 
ducer and  the  state.  By  1870  the  government,  recognizing  that 
the  sugar  industry  was  established  on  a  sound  footing,  decided 
to  withdraw  from  any  participation  in  the  manufacture  and  a 
new  set  of  rules  was  formulated,  under  which  the  government's 
direct  connection  with  the  industry  was  confined  to  the  grow- 
ing of  the  cane.  The  government  then  had  to  dispose  of  a  por- 


JAVA  289 

tion  of  the  land  and  the  native  labor  at  a  just  figure,  and  when 
once  the  cane  crop  was  turned  over  to  the  contractor  he  had  to 
take  care  of  any  further  field  work,  together  with  the  harvest- 
ing and  transportation  of  the  cane,  out  of  his  own  funds  with- 
out government  help.  Commencing  with  the  year  1879,  the  gov- 
ernment was  to  reduce  its  interest  in  the  original  contract 
plantations  one-thirteenth  annually,  so  that  government  par- 
ticipation in  both  cultivation  and  manufacture  of  sugar  should 
terminate  by  1891.  It  was  stipulated  that  the  manufacturers 
could  make  whatever  disposition  of  their  output  they  wished, 
and  in  lieu  of  rent  for  the  land  they  planted  to  cane,  they  were 
to  pay  a  fixed  price  for  the  cane,  and  in  addition  a  premium 
based  on  the  yield  of  the  years  1864-69.  On  privately  owned 
plantations  the  government  exacted  a  tax  of  $10.00  for  every 
1.74  acres.  This  tax  on  privately  grown  cane  was  abolished  in 
1886  in  order  to  stimulate  the  then  languishing  industry,  and 
the  premium  on  state  plantations  was  cut  down  one-half  be- 
tween 1887  and  1891,  with  the  proviso  that  the  payment  of  the 
other  half  should  be  deferred  until  1892-96. 

Unfortunately  for  the  producers  in  Java,  there  was  a  disas- 
trous slump  in  sugar  prices  just  about  the  time  these  new  meas- 
ures were  formulated.  The  tremendous  output  of  beet  sugar 
sent  the  price  below  cost  in  1882-84,  and  besides  this  a  strange 
disease,  called  sereh,  worked  havoc  with  the  cane  in  the  fields 
and  caused  serious  loss.  This  disease  made  its  appearance  in 
western  Java  in  1884  and  spread  rapidly,  affecting  the  produc- 
tion everywhere.  After  carrying  on  a  hard  but  losing  fight  for 
some  years,  the  sugar  men  summoned  science  to  their  aid  in 
this  difficulty.  H.  C.  Prinsen  Geerligs  was  called  to  Java  in 
1891  and  three  experimental  stations  were  established  to  fight 
the  sereh.  Through  the  efforts  of  the  officials  in  charge  of  the 
experiment  stations,  specimens  of  cane  were  brought  from  all 
parts  of  the  cane-producing  world,  the  object  being  to  find  a 


290  HISTORICAL 

cane  that  would  be  as  rich  in  sugar  as  the  Black  Cheribon  (the 
most  popular  variety  then  grown  in  Java)  and  yet  able  to  with- 
stand the  sereh.  Fresh  healthy  cane  was  planted  for  seed  pur- 
poses in  the  mountains,  far  from  the  disease-infected  region, 
and  much  care  was  taken  in  the  way  of  disinfection  and  quar- 
antine precaution  to  prevent  the  sereh  from  spreading  into  the 
sections  that  were  free  from  it.  These  measures  were  accom- 
panied by  exhaustive  scientific  experiment  work  to  find  out  the 
cause  and  the  nature  of  the  disease  and  how  it  could  be  over- 
come. 

These  stations  not  only  accomplished  the  purpose  for  which 
they  were  built,  but  they  were  of  great  benefit  to  the  industry 
in  all  of  its  branches.  As  a  result,  planting,  growing  and  manu- 
facturing methods  have  been  vastly  improved,  chemical  con- 
trol of  factories  has  been  introduced  and  economic  scientific 
methods  govern  every  department  of  the  work.  By  these  means, 
supported  by  the  addition  of  fresh  capital,  the  sugar  industry 
of  Java  was  not  only  saved  from  extinction,  but  was  lifted  into 
a  very  prominent  world's  place,  and  for  years  past  Java  has  fur- 
nished an  example  of  remarkable  efficiency  and  low  cost  of 
production. 

Java's  sugar  plantations  are  situated  in  the  eastern  and  cen- 
tral part  of  the  island.  The  surface  of  much  of  the  western  end 
is  broken  and  mountainous,  lacking  uninterrupted  stretches  of 
level  land  suitable  for  agriculture,  and  presenting  obstacles  to 
transportation.  The  great  drawback,  however,  even  in  the 
vast  plain  of  Krawang,  is  climatic.  As  has  been  said,  the  ideal 
climate  for  sugar  cane  is  one  that  combines  abundant  rain  dur- 
ing the  period  of  growth  with  an  uninterrupted  dry  season  to 
ripen  the  cane  and  admit  of  its  being  readily  harvested  and 
transported  to  the  mill.  In  west  Java  these  conditions  do  not 
obtain,  as  the  wet  and  dry  seasons  are  not  sharply  defined. 

The  plains  along  the  north  central  coast,  east  of  the  river 


JAVA  291 

Tjimanoek,  between  the  sea  and  the  foothills  are,  with  the  ex- 
ception of  a  few  open  stretches,  devoted  to  cane  growing.  There 
is  also  a  considerable  area  in  cane  south  of  the  central  chain  of 
mountains- 

In  east  Java  the  sugar  estates  are  found  in  the  wide  valley 
of  the  river  Brantas,  on  the  plateaus  of  the  provinces  of  Madioen 
and  Kediri,  in  the  fertile  plains  along  the  north  coast  and  in  the 
lowlands  bordering  upon  the  Bali  strait. 

In  1912  Java  had  184  sugar  factories  in  operation,  divided 
among  the  various  residencies  as  follows : 

ACREAGE  SUGAR  PRODUCED 

RESIDENCY  FACTORIES  IN  CANE  TONS  OF  224O  LBS. 

Cheribon  12  22,346  85,728 

Pekalongan  15  29,847  124,322 

Samarang  12  22,490  97,462 

Banjoemas  5|  ^  g 

Kedoe  2  J 

Djokjakarta  18  27,785  120,384 

Soerakarta  16  24,122  97, 706 

Madioen  6  13,376  47,463 

Kediri  20  48,005  195,232 

Sourabaya  38  65,633  275,920 

Pasoeroean  29  57,684  199,390 

Bezoeki  n  16,763  5^,493 


Total  184        346,691         1,384,242 

While  these  figures  show  the  acreage  actually  under  cane, 
the  total  amount  of  land  used  in  the  production  of  the  crop  is 
much  greater.  It  takes  over  twelve  months  for  the  cane  to  ma- 
ture, and  as  some  fields  are  being  cut  others  are  being  planted. 
The  ground  required  for  factory  buildings,  dwellings,  roads 
and  other  purposes  connected  with  the  industry  must  also  be 
taken  into  account,  and  it  has  been  estimated  that  altogether 


292  HISTORICAL 

1,200,000  acres  are  tributary  to  cane  culture.  The  annual  plant- 
ings cover  about  350,000  acres  and  the  portion  of  the  remainder 
that  is  not  devoted  to  roads,  buildings  and  so  forth  is  sown 
with  other  crops  or  allowed  to  lie  fallow  for  a  time. 
The  general  plan  of  crop  rotation  on  an  average  is : 

First  year  May-October,  sugar-cane  crop  is  cut. 

October-November,  soya  beans,  maize,  etc. 

November-April,  rice. 
Second  year        April-November,  indigo,  tobacco,  beans,  fallow. 

November-April,  rice. 

Third  year          April  until  May-October  of  the  fourth  year, 
sugar-cane  crop. 

Sometimes  tapioca  is  planted  instead  of  rice  immediately 
after  the  cane  crop  is  harvested,  but  cane  invariably  follows  a 
rice  crop.  The  European  planter  confines  his  operations  to 
sugar  cane,  and  the  other  products  are  raised  by  the  native 
farmer  exclusively  by  his  own  efforts  and  on  his  own  account. 

The  terms  under  which  plantation  land  is  held  in  Java  differ 
widely  from  those  that  govern  in  other  cane-growing  countries. 
Between  1830  and  1879,  when  the  compulsory  cultural  plan  was 
in  effect,  the  government  determined  what  lands  were  to  be 
planted  in  cane.  It  compelled  the  natives  to  cultivate  and  har- 
vest the  crop,  but  allowed  them  compensation  for  their  labor 
and  the  use  of  their  fields.  The  wages  thus  paid  were  ultimately 
accounted  for  when  the  sugar  was  sold  by  the  government. 
Each  district,  or  group  of  districts,  delivered  the  cane  product 
to  the  mill  agreed  upon  and  the  grinding  was  done  under  a 
contract  with  the  government. 

When,  at  a  later  period,  the  sugar  estates  had  to  produce 
their  own  cane,  they  gradually  took  over  the  land  on  a  rental 
basis  and  grew  cane  upon  it  by  paid  native  labor.  In  1879,  when 
cultivation  was  free,  the  government  factories  had  7531  acres 


JAVA  293 

leased  from  the  natives,  in  addition  to  64,470  acres  of  cane  that 
they  ground  under  contract  with  the  government.  At  this  time 
the  independent  factories  had  16,824  acres  rented  and  were 
growing  cane  upon  it  under  their  own  management  and  for 
their  own  account. 

During  the  gradual  abolition  of  the  cultural  system,  the 
fields  first  given  up  by  the  government  were  those  situated  at 
a  considerable  distance  from  the  factories  and  those  to  which 
it  was  difficult  to  bring  water  for  irrigation.  It  came  about 
naturally  that  when  the  factories  had  the  selecting  of  the  lands 
they  were  to  rent,  they  picked  out  the  best  in  their  neighbor- 
hood for  their  purposes.  In  this  way  an  exchange  of  the  tilled 
fields  was  effected.  Subsequently,  estates  were  extended  and 
new  tracts  of  land  occupied,  but  in  increasing  the  acreage,  each 
factory  was  careful  to  confine  its  operations  to  its  own  district 
and  thus  avoid  competing  with  other  factories  in  renting  new 
ground.  The  old-established  factories  already  had  their  acre- 
age, and  when  the  compulsory  cultivation  plan  was  abandoned, 
they  mutually  agreed  upon  the  territory  in  which  each  factory 
should  rent  land  without  interference  on  the  part  of  any  of  the 
others.  Whenever  a  new  plantation  was  established,  its  district 
was  clearly  defined,  so  it  will  be  seen  that  under  this  plan  there 
could  be  no  competitive  bidding  on  land  rents.  There  have  been 
instances  of  newcomers  having  disregarded  this  convention, 
but  in  every  case  they  have  sooner  or  later  acknowledged  their 
error,  and  today  there  is  perfect  harmony  among  the  factors  as 
to  the  territory  in  which  each  interest  rents  its  land. 

In  Java,  cane  is  almost  always  grown  on  J^ds  irrigated  by 
the  same  means  that  are  employed  in  irri^lmg  rice,  the  privi- 
lege of  using  these  works  being  included  in  thjf-rent  of  the  land. 
Under  the  compulsory  regime  it  was  the  rule  that  fti  the  dry 
season  irrigation  water  should  be  utilized^or  the  cane  fields 
during  the  day  and  for  native  agriculture  dunbg  the  night,  and 


294  HISTORICAL 

this  regulation  remained  effective  after  the  withdrawal  of  the 
government  from  the  industry. 

As  the  water  supply  was  controlled  by  private  enterprises,  it 
frequently  happened  that  in  a  time  of  scarcity  it  was  not  im- 
partially distributed.  After  1890,  when  the  acreage  of  the  cane 
plantations  was  being  constantly  extended,  the  authorities 
found  themselves  obliged  to  prevent  encroachment  by  the  cane 
growers  on  the  land  required  to  produce  the  necessities  of  life 
for  the  natives,  and  also  to  see  to  it  that  the  new  extensions  of 
cane  land  should  not  be  allowed  to  appropriate  an  undue  pro- 
portion of  the  available  water  to  the  detriment  of  both  the  es- 
tablished plantations  and  the  native  agriculture.  Accordingly, 
in  1894,  legislation  touching  the  renting  of  land  and  the  use  of 
water  was  begun,  the  principal  features  being  as  follows : 

All  new  sugar  enterprises,  or  any  addition  to  an  existing  en- 
terprise, to  apply  to  the  director  of  the  civil  service  for  his  sanc- 
tion of  the  undertaking,  and  the  applicant  to  declare  the  maxi- 
mmn  area  of  land  to  be  planted  with  cane  each  year,  as  well  as 
the  names  of  the  districts  in  which  it  is  desired  to  rent  cane 
lands. 

The  authorities  investigate  conditions  in  order  to  determine 
whether  or  not  the  proposed  increase  will  conform  to  the  rules 
governing  the  "Lease  under  contract  with  the  native  popula- 
tion." They  are  also  careful  to  satisfy  themselves  that  the 
granting  of  the  request  will  not  produce  unfair  disparity  be- 
tween the  amount  of  land  and  water  used  for  cane  cultivation 
and  that  devoted  to  the  raising  of  foods  for  the  natives. 

The  permit  to  rent  the  necessary  amount  of  ground  provides 
that,  while  the  length  of  the  lease  may  vary  according  to  con- 
ditions, the  land  cannot  be  held  by  the  sugar  factory  any  longer 
than  is  necessary  to  grow  and  harvest  one  crop  of  cane.  This 
takes  between  fifteen  and  seventeen  months,  and  the  land  must 
be  in  the  hands  of  the  native  farmer  directly  before  and  after 


JAVA  295 

that  period.  Leases  to  be  valid  must  be  drawn  up  before  a  civil- 
service  official  and  have  his  approval. 

No  permits  for  the  establishment  of  new  factories  or  the  ex- 
tension of  existing  enterprises  will  be  issued  for  the  time  being 
in  districts  where  important  changes  in  the  irrigating  system, 
either  new  construction  or  additions,  are  contemplated.  As  a 
rule,  the  period  during  which  the  natives  are  prohibited  from 
renting  lands  that  have  been  opened  up  to  irrigation  for  the 
first  time  is  fixed  at  five  years.  This  is  done  in  order  to  afford 
the  natives  an  opportunity  to  realize  what  the  land  is  worth 
before  leasing  it.  The  amount  of  water  to  be  used  in  the  grow- 
ing of  rice  and  other  crops  as  well  as  cane  has  also  been  clearly 
agreed  upon  and  great  care  is  taken  to  see  that  full  justice  is 
done  to  all  concerned. 

As  the  water  brought  by  canal  is  not  sufficient  to  irrigate 
the  entire  cane  acreage,  the  government  has  allowed  the  fac- 
tories to  install  a  number  of  large  pumping  plants  by  which 
water  is  raised  from  rivers.  In  such  cases,  whenever  the  fac- 
tories have  pumped  water  enough  for  their  own  requirements, 
they  are  generally  willing  to  operate  the  pump  free  of  cost  to 
supply  water  to  the  native  farmer. 

In  the  principalities  or  semi-independent  states  of  Java, 
where  the  native  princes  have  made  grants  of  land  to  their 
nobles  as  appanage,  another  rental  system  prevails.  Both 
princes  and  nobles  lease  large  tracts  of  land  for  long  periods  to 
European  agriculturists,  and  such  leases  include  not  only  the 
fertile  portion  with  the  irrigation  facilities  and  the  water,  but 
the  rocky,  barren  spaces  as  well.  Here  the  tenant  has  to  make 
the  most  of  the  possibilities  of  the  property  and  determine  what 
part  of  it  is  best  suited  for  cane  culture  and  what  part  for  other 
purposes. 

Besides  the  two  plans  of  tenure  just  described,  certain  lands 
are  held  under  absolute  title  or  perpetual  lease.  Over  a  hundred 


296  HISTORICAL 

years  ago  large  tracts  were  sold  outright  at  times,  the  title 
carrying  all  the  seignioral  rights,  and  consequently  the  owners 
are  free  to  plant  and  irrigate  without  restriction.  In  later  years 
European  farmers  were  no  longer  permitted  to  purchase,  but 
much  jungle  land  was  leased  for  seventy-five-year  periods.  Such 
leases  were  made  for  the  most  part  in  mountainous  or  sparsely 
settled  territory,  and  as  sugar  culture  thrives  best  in  the  low 
plains  where  labor  is  plentiful,  sugar  has  not  been  benefited  as 
much  by  the  long-term  leases  as  have  tea  and  cinchona  bark. 
Still  there  are  sugar  plantations  that  hold  land  under  perpetual 
lease  with  unrestricted  rights  and  water  for  irrigation. 

Plantations  situated  in  the  thickly  populated  lowlands  have 
no  trouble  in  securing  labor,  but  it  is  another  matter  in  dis- 
tricts that  have  been  newly  opened  up  or  on  perpetual-lease 
holdings  where  the  population  is  small.  In  the  last  two  cases 
labor  must  be  brought  in  from  other  districts,  and  sometimes 
there  is  difficulty  in  doing  this,  especially  during  the  rice 
harvest  or  when  large  public  works  are  under  construction. 

However,  such  conditions  are  unusual,  and,  as  compared 
with  other  sugar-producing  countries,  Java  is  in  a  peculiarly 
fortunate  position  with  respect  to  a  steady  supply  of  good  labor 
at  low  cost.  All  of  the  arduous  work  is  done  by  men,  but  women 
cut  cane  tops,  plant  seed  and  do  watering  and  weeding,  while 
children  are  employed  in  destroying  insects  and  other  light 
work. 

In  April  or  May,  as  soon  as  the  rice  crop  has  been  cut,  the 
field  is  prepared  for  planting  sugar  cane.  The  soil  is  first 
drained  of  its  superfluous  moisture,  and,  if  the  ground  be  loose, 
it  is  generally  ploughed  several  times.  Heavy  soils,  instead  of 
being  ploughed,  are  treated  by  the  Reynoso  method.  This  con- 
sists of  digging  deep  ditches  to  carry  off  the  subsoil  water  and 
to  supply  irrigation  water  later  on.  The  plot  is  then  divided  by 
cross  ditches  into  pieces  about  one-sixth  of  an  acre  in  size  and 


JAVA  297 

finally  the  furrows  for  the  seed  are  dug.  These  furrows  are  gen- 
erally thirty  feet  long,  from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  wide, 
twelve  or  fifteen  inches  deep  and  four  or  five  feet  apart.  The 
earth  displaced  in  digging  is  piled  up  between  the  furrows. 
Thus  prepared,  the  field  is  left  exposed  to  wind  and  sun  for 
about  six  weeks  and  at  the  end  of  this  period  the  heavy  wet 
clods  have  crumbled  into  a  gray  or  light-brown  powder.  Dur- 
ing the  drying-out  process  the  grass  has  to  be  removed  re- 
peatedly, and  in  case  of  rain,  the  soil  that  is  washed  down  into 
the  furrows  is  thrown  back  upon  the  ridges  to  prevent  the  fur- 
rows from  silting  up.  The  hard  bottom  of  the  furrow  is 
loosened  or  square  holes  are  dug  in  it  and  filled  with  loose  soil. 
Part  of  the  earth  on  the  ridges  is  thrown  into  the  furrow  and 
the  field  is  then  ready  for  planting. 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  sereh,  seed  for  new  plantations 
was  obtained  exclusively  from  tops  of  ripe  cane,  but  when  the 
disease  became  prevalent,  it  was  found  that  cuttings  taken  from 
sereh-infected  cane  gave  diseased  yields,  while  cuttings  from 
cane  grown  in  districts  not  affected  by  the  sereh  produced  cane 
that  did  not  suffer  so  greatly  from  the  disease.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  trouble,  cuttings  from  outside  healthy  districts 
were  used,  but  as  the  disease  spread,  the  demand  for  sound 
cuttings  increased  while  the  sources  of  supply  became  fewer. 
Finally,  plantations  were  established  in  remote  districts  free 
from  disease  and  they  were  carefully  quarantined.  Here  seed- 
lings were  grown  from  young  cane  cut  at  full  length,  and  in  this 
way  sound  seed  was  obtainable  at  all  times.  Formerly,  seed  was 
only  to  be  had  in  the  grinding  season,  which  frequently  occa- 
sioned delays  in  planting.  The  new  plan  not  only  enabled  the 
cane  growers  to  stamp  out  the  sereh,  but  even  after  the  disease 
had  been  practically  eradicated  it  was  continued  because  of  its 
manifest  advantages. 

Seedlings  used  for  planting  are  cut  into  lengths,  each  having 


298  HISTORICAL 

three  eyes.  Unhealthy  stalks  and  any  showing  the  presence  of 
insect  pests  or  fungi  are  culled,  while  the  sound  pieces  are  care- 
fully disinfected.  The  seed  thus  prepared  is  placed  horizontally 
in  the  furrows  end-to-end  and  covered  with  earth.  At  first 
water  is  applied  at  four-  or  five-day  intervals,  afterward  less 
frequently,  until  the  cane  has  attained  a  considerable  height. 
About  this  time  the  rainy  monsoon  sets  in  and  further  irriga- 
tion is  not  needed.  The  stalks  are  banked  several  times  during 
the  early  period  of  growth  and  fertilizing  accompanies  the 
second  and  third  banking.  Until  comparatively  recently  the 
fertilizer  consisted  of  nitrogenous  substances,  while  potash  and 
phosphoric  acid  were  considered  of  no  value.  The  first  investi- 
gations concerning  fertilizers  were  made  on  rich  lands  that  had 
been  irrigated  with  river  water  when  the  wet  rice  crop  was  be- 
ing grown,  and  the  water  brought  with  it  sufficient  potash  and 
phosphates  for  the  needs  of  the  cane.  In  such  cases  it  was 
shown  that  adding  these  substances  to  the  soil  was  unnecessary 
and  that  nitrogen  was  the  only  element  that  could  increase  the 
yield  of  cane.  Hence  groundnut  cakes  and  sulphate  of  ammonia 
were  used  almost  entirely.  It  has  been  proved,  however,  by 
more  thorough  study  that  much  ground  is  low  in  phosphates, 
and  this  fertilizer  has  been  added  with  excellent  results.  As  re- 
gards potash,  the  soil  of  Java  seems  to  contain  sufficient  for 
cane  cultivation. 

When  the  cane  leaves  become  sufficiently  thick  to  shade  the 
ground  the  weeds  die.  Borers,  beetle  larvae  and  termites  are 
caught  during  the  early  growing  period,  but  all  labor  stops 
with  the  last  banking  and  the  advent  of  the  wet  monsoon.  When 
the  wet  season  is  over,  the  cane  is  trashed  and  samples  of  the 
growing  cane  are  taken  from  the  fields  and  tested  in  the  labora- 
tory of  the  factory  to  determine  the  degree  of  ripeness.  As  soon 
as  the  roads  become  dry  enough  to  admit  of  cane-laden  carts 
passing  over  them,  the  harvesting  of  the  ripest  cane  begins. 


JAVA  299 

The  cane  is  dug  up  by  the  roots,  care  being  taken  to  leave  as 
little  as  possible  of  the  roots  in  the  ground.  The  roots  and  the 
earth  adhering  to  them  are  removed,  together  with  the  leaves 
and  tops,  and  the  clean  cane  is  loaded  on  cars  to  be  taken  to  the 
mill. 

Formerly  carts  drawn  by  oxen  and  buffaloes  were  used  to 
transport  the  cane  to  the  factory,  but  the  crop  has  grown  to 
such  proportions  that  cattle-drawn  carts  have  had  to  give  way 
to  the  rail.  Today  nearly  every  plantation  has  its  own  railroad 
with  permanent  and  portable  tracks,  over  which  the  cane  moves 
in  cars  hauled  by  cattle  or  locomotives. 

Having  been  unloaded  at  the  mill,  the  cane  is  taken  to  the 
crushers  on  carriers.  Three  sets  of  rolls  are  generally  used 
and  water  is  sprayed  on  the  cane  before  the  last  crushing,  after 
which  the  bagasse  is  fed  to  the  furnaces  as  fuel.  The  juice  is 
strained  to  free  it  from  fragments  of  cane  and  leaves,  then  milk 
of  lime  is  added  and  heat  applied.  The  heavy  impurities  settle 
at  the  bottom,  the  clear  juice  is  drawn  off  and  the  remaining 
juice  is  separated  from  the  foreign  matter  in  the  filter  presses. 
Another  method  is  to  treat  the  juice  at  a  low  temperature  with 
a  large  admixture  of  milk  of  lime,  and  afterward  with  carbonic 
acid  or  sulphurous  acid  until  all  the  lime  is  neutralized.  Then 
all  the  juice  is  clarified  by  filtration  without  the  settling  opera- 
tion. Next  follow  evaporation,  refiltering,  boiling  to  grain  and 
separation  of  the  crystals  from  the  mother  liquor  in  centrifugal 
machines. 

In  1903  the  Java  manufacturers  began  to  make  a  bid  for  the 
British  Indian  trade.  After  some  experimenting  they  succeeded 
in  producing  an  almost-white  raw  sugar,  which  at  once  found 
favor  in  India,  where  sugar  refined  by  the  bone-char  process 
was  objected  to  for  religious  reasons.  Statistics  compiled  for 
the  year  1912  show  that  this  so-called  "Java  white"  represented 
39.2  per  cent  of  the  entire  output ;  26.2  per  cent  was  muscavado, 


300  JAVA 

29.9  per  cent  European  assortment  and  4.7  per  cent  second 
sugars. 

Java,  with  her  population  of  more  than  thirty  millions,  pre- 
sents altogether  different  conditions  to  the  sugar  grower  than 
other  cane-producing  countries.  A  large  proportion  of  the  agri- 
cultural area  is  needed  for  crops  of  food  to  nourish  the  inhabi- 
tants. The  land  available  for  sugar  cane  is  rented  at  an  equi- 
table figure  and,  as  has  been  said,  there  is  always  an  ample  sup- 
ply of  cheap  and  readily  obtainable  labor.  The  aim  of  the  Javan 
planter  is  to  produce  cane  carrying  a  high  sugar  content  and 
to  get  as  great  a  yield  as  possible.  To  this  end,  unceasing  atten- 
tion is  paid  to  cultivation,  fertilizing  and  the  general  well-being 
of  the  crop;  in  other  words,  the  soil  is  worked  for  all  there  is 
in  it. 

While  the  scientists  of  the  country  are  absorbed  in  the  task 
of  producing  through  cross-culture  new  species  of  cane  that 
will  give  a  heavier  yield  per  acre  with  a  higher  sugar  content 
and  greater  purity,  the  agriculturists  are  opening  up  extensive 
fresh  tracts  of  rice  and  cane  land.  New  irrigation  projects  play 
an  important  part  in  this  development  and  everything  points 
to  a  steady  growth  of  the  industry. 

The  following  table  shows  the  annual  output  since  1840  in 
tons  of  2240  pounds : 

1840  46,296          1850     85,153 

1841  45,176          1851     n8,443 

1842  50,320          1852     74,8o6 

1843  55,544          1853     109,961 

1844  62,419          1854     110,323 

1845  89,526          1855     102,321 

1846  86,263          1856     123,124 

1847  81,431          1857     104,479 

1848  88,512          1858     130,725 

1849  103,445          1859 


JAVA 


301 


1860 

134,001 

1888 

349,719 

1861 

134,726 

1889 

327,735 

1862 

142,755 

1890 

393,680 

1863 

129,716 

1891 

400,372 

1864 

138,009 

1892 

415,332 

1865 

I35,7H 

1893 

472,082 

1866 

140,042 

1894 

522,574 

1867 

130,947 

1895 

572,38i 

1868 

175,960 

1896 

525,947 

1869 

179-579 

1897 

577,036 

1870 

150,184 

1898 

713,575 

1871 

187,851 

1899 

750,400 

1872 

205,992 

1900 

732,498 

1873 

I95,924 

1901 

791,046 

1874 

198,318 

1902 

882,966 

i875 

190,576 

1903 

929,880 

1876 

234,"i 

1904 

1,038,373 

1877 

241,930 

1905 

1,022,759 

1878 

221,140 

1906 

1,050,926 

1879 

229,616 

1907 

1,191,007 

1880 

212,763 

1908 

1,222,262 

1881 

274,796 

1909 

1,227,553 

1882 

287,392 

1910 

1,258,222 

1883 

319,574 

1911 

1,443,397 

1884 

388,019 

1912 

1,331,180 

1885 

374,041 

1913 

1,345,230 

1886 

350,397 

1914 

1,303,045 

1887 

369,847 

1915 

1,264,000 

1916 

1,500,000' 

Estimated. 


AUSTRALIA 

F"  •  "iHE  island-continent  of  Australia  lies  south  of  Asia,  be- 
tween the  Indian  and  Pacific  oceans,  and  it  extends 

JL  from  10  degrees  41  minutes  to  39  degrees  8  minutes 
south  latitude  and  from  113  degrees  to  153  degrees  30  minutes 
east  longitude.  Its  area  is  2,974,581  square  miles  and  the  popu- 
lation, not  including  aborigines,  is  4,455,005,  mainly  of  British 
origin. 

Dutch  and  Spanish  explorers  visited  Australia  in  1606.  On 
April  19,  1770,  its  eastern  coast  was  first  sighted  by  Cook,  who, 
nine  days  later,  dropped  anchor  in  Botany  bay.  Sailing  north, 
he  touched  at  several  points,  and  after  having  completed  a  sur- 
vey of  the  east  coast,  he  took  possession  of  the  territory  be- 
tween 38  degrees  south  and  10  degrees  30  minutes  south.  He 
reached  Australia  again  in  1772  and  in  1777  he  landed  on  the 
coasts  of  Tasmania  and  New  Zealand.  The  first  settlement  was 
established  at  Port  Jackson  in  1788  and  gold  was  discovered  in 
1851.  The  commonwealth  of  Australia  comprises  the  following 
political  divisions:  Victoria,  New  South  Wales,  Queensland, 
South  Australia,  Northern  Territory,  Western  Australia  and 
Tasmania. 

As  over  90  per  cent  of  Australia's  sugar  crop  comes  from 
Queensland,  this  article  will  deal  with  the  growth  and  condi- 
tion of  the  industry  in  that  state  only.  Queensland  has  an  area 
of  668,497  square  miles,  of  which  920,010  acres  were  under  cul- 
tivation in  1913;  of  this,  147,743  acres  were  planted  with  sugar 
cane. 

About  one-half  of  Queensland  lies  in  the  tropics  and  the  re- 
maining area  stretches  southward  to  the  twenty-ninth  par- 


.  '^^:,'ivv,;/;  :;Y.- 


AUSTRALIA  303 

allel.  The  temperature  is  affected  in  a  marked  degree  by  the 
breezes  that  blow  steadily  from  the  sea  and  moderate  what 
otherwise  would  be  excessive  heat.  It  is  warmer  along  the 
coast  than  in  the  uplands  of  the  interior,  and  in  the  northern 
part  the  heat  is  very  trying  to  people  who  have  come  from 
temperate  climes.  At  Rockhampton  the  winter  temperature 
averages  65  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  in  summer  the  mean  is 
nearly  85  degrees.  The  annual  rainfall  on  the  seacoast  is  large, 
particularly  in  the  north,  where  it  ranges  between  60  and  70 
inches.  At  Brisbane  it  is  about  47  inches,  while  a  large  part  of 
the  interior  receives  from  20  to  30  inches,  but  it  falls  below  20 
inches  in  the  west  and  south.  There  are  no  active  volcanoes  in 
Australia  and  no  violent  earthquakes  have  occurred  in  recent 
years. 

The  sugar  plantations  of  Queensland  are  found  in  a  strip  of 
territory  running  along  the  eastern  coast  between  the  six- 
teenth parallel  and  the  southern  border.  This  stretch  of  land 
has  been  divided  into  three  districts,  the  southern,  the  central 
and  the  northern,  the  last  being  the  most  important,  as  it  fur- 
nishes over  60  per  cent  of  the  total  sugar  production  of  the 
state. 

The  cane  lands  are  of  two  kinds — scrub  land  and  forest  land. 
The  scrub  lands  may  be  divided  into  two  classes,  true  scrub  and 
bastard  scrub,  the  former  being  characterized  by  a  dense,  al- 
most impenetrable  vine  growth  and  timber  of  soft  wood.  In 
the  bastard  scrub  there  are  both  hard  and  soft  woods,  the  for- 
mer predominating,  and  very  little  vine  growth  is  met  with. 
The  soil  of  true  scrub  lands  is  of  two  kinds,  alluvial  and  vol- 
canic. The  alluvial  soil  is  composed  of  clay,  fine  sand,  gravel 
and  vegetable  and  mineral  matter  brought  from  the  high  levels 
by  water  action.  The  soil  of  forest  lands  is  diversified  and,  for 
sugar-cane  culture,  "blady  grassed"  bloodwood  country  with 
a  porous  subsoil  is  selected.  Here  the  yield  of  cane  per  acre  is 


304  HISTORICAL 

not  so  heavy  as  on  scrub  lands,  but  the  sugar  content  of  the 
juice  is  greater. 

The  growth  of  sugar  cane  and  the  manufacture  of  sugar  in 
Australia  date  back  to  1823,  but  no  substantial  progress  was 
made  for  a  number  of  years.  The  first  cane  to  be  raised  in 
Queensland  was  grown  in  the  botanic  gardens  in  Brisbane  in 
1847  and  sugar  was  first  manufactured  in  that  state  in  1862. 
The  following  year  Captain  Louis  Hope  had  twenty  acres  in 
cane  on  a  plantation  near  Brisbane  and  to  him  is  due  the  credit 
of  establishing  the  sugar  industry  in  Queensland.  In  1867 
there  were  nearly  2000  acres  in  cane  and  six  mills  in  operation, 
while  the  next  year  saw  5000  acres  planted,  with  twenty-eight 
mills  at  work.  The  industry  grew  and  throve  until  1875,  when 
the  cane  crop  was  almost  completely  destroyed  by  a  disease 
known  as  "rust,"  which  was  really  due  to  imperfect  cultivation, 
lack  of  proper  drainage  and  the  soft  variety  of  the  cane.  As 
over  60  per  cent  of  the  estates  were  being  operated  with  bor- 
rowed capital,  the  planters  found  themselves  in  serious  finan- 
cial trouble  and  many  mortgages  were  foreclosed.  Up  to  this 
time  Bourbon  cane  was  the  variety  generally  grown,  and  when 
the  disease  wrought  such  havoc  with  the  crop,  it  was  noticed 
that  the  Rappoe  cane  did  not  suffer  from  rust.  The  hardiness 
of  this  variety  encouraged  the  growers  to  substitute  it  and 
other  sturdy  species  of  cane  for  the  Bourbon.  The  change 
proved  entirely  successful  and  the  planters  enjoyed  good  times 
once  more. 

The  sugar  industry  of  Queensland  was  carried  on  at  the  out- 
set under  the  plantation  system,  that  is  to  say,  the  planter,  be- 
sides growing  the  cane,  owned  the  mill  and  manufactured  the 
sugar.  This  method  worked  very  well  until  1884,  when  a 
period  of  extreme  depression  came  in  the  wake  of  the  great 
boom  that  began  in  1879.  In  1885  the  industry  appeared  to  be 
in  danger  of  extinction,  and,  as  a  remedial  measure,  the  legisla- 


AUSTRALIA  305 

tive  assembly  voted  £  50,000  for  the  establishing  of  central  fac- 
tories. Two  mills  were  operated  on  the  new  plan  as  an  experi- 
ment with  such  marked  success  that  an  act  was  passed  in  1893 
to  foster  the  development  of  the  central-factory  system.  The  act 
enabled  a  number  of  planters  to  form  a  co-operative  company 
for  the  purpose  of  building  and  equipping  a  central  mill.  The 
necessary  funds  were  obtained  from  the  government,  the  cane 
lands  being  pledged  as  security  for  the  loan,  and  the  mills  erect- 
ed by  this  means  became  the  property  of  the  companies  upon 
the  payment  of  the  loan.  The  large  estates  were  gradually  cut 
up  into  tracts  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  acres  each  and  were 
leased  or  sold  on  reasonable  terms ;  in  this  way  the  land  was  set- 
tled by  a  large  number  of  farmers. 

Nevertheless,  there  was  grave  danger  that  the  benefit  ac- 
complished by  this  new  law  would  be  more  than  offset  by  the 
"white  labor"  agitation.  As  is  well  known,  the  labor  party  is 
very  strong  in  Australia,  and  probably  no  other  branch  of  agri- 
culture in  that  country  has  been  so  beset  with  labor  troubles 
as  the  sugar  industry.  For  nearly  thirty  years  the  supply  of 
laborers  for  the  cane  fields  was  drawn  from  the  South  Sea 
islands  and  India,  principally  the  former.  The  white  laborers 
were  loud  and  insistent  in  their  protests  against  the  employ- 
ment of  Kanakas,  as  the  islanders  were  called,  and  finally,  after 
the  formation  of  the  commonwealth  in  1900,  an  act  excluding 
colored  labor  entirely  and  providing  for  the  deportation  of  the 
Kanakas  to  their  homes  was  passed  by  the  federal  government. 
To  afford  the  planter  relief  for  the  hardship  worked  upon  him 
by  this  measure  by  reason  of  the  high  wages  they  had  to  pay 
in  order  to  secure  white  laborers,  a  duty  was  placed  upon  for- 
eign sugar.  A  bounty  upon  sugar  produced  by  white  labor  was 
also  provided  for,  but  this,  together  with  the  excise  tax  on 
sugar,  was  abolished  in  1913.  Today  the  industry  is  protected 
by  a  customs  tariff  of  one  and  three-tenth  cents  per  pound. 


306  HISTORICAL 

When  cane  is  to  be  planted  in  new  ground,  the  scrub,  stumps 
and  logs  are  first  cleared  away  and  the  field  is  then  ready  for 
the  seed.  Holes  are  made  with  a  mattock  at  regular  intervals, 
the  seed  cane  is  placed  therein,  covered  with  earth  and  left  to 
grow.  The  ground  is  hoed  from  time  to  time  to  keep  the  weeds 
under  control,  but  the  young  cane  does  not  require  much  atten- 
tion after  the  first  five  or  six  months.  On  cleared  land,  plough- 
ing is  done  two,  three  or  four  times,  after  which  the  surface  is 
harrowed,  rolled  and  planted.  Three  or  four  weedings  are  neces- 
sary during  the  growth  of  the  crop. 

From  Mackay  northward  planting  is  done  between  Febru- 
ary and  October,  but  in  certain  low-lying  districts  in  the  north 
May,  June  and  July  are  not  considered  good  months  for  plant- 
ing on  account  of  the  possibility  of  frosts.  The  cane  ripens  in 
from  twelve  to  eighteen  months.  In  the  region  south  of  the 
tropic  line,  planting  is  done  early,  although  much  cane  is  set 
out  in  August  and  September.  The  cane  when  cut  is  trans- 
ported to  the  mills  by  narrow-gauge  railroads,  some  of  these 
lines  being  portable.  In  the  north  crushing  begins  in  June  and 
ends  in  December,  while  in  the  south  the  greater  part  of  it  is 
done  from  August  to  December.  From  two  to  four  crops  of 
ratoons  are  raised,  but  usually  not  more  than  three,  the  land 
lying  fallow  for  one  season.  Fertilizing  is  not  generally  prac- 
ticed, although  some  growers  make  use  of  legumes  or  dry 
manures  as  enrichers.  The  former  consist  of  the  Mauritius 
bean,  the  cow-pea  and  vetches,  which  are  ploughed  into  the  land 
after  they  have  attained  a  certain  growth. 

Under  ordinary  conditions  the  rainfall  is  so  evenly  dis- 
tributed in  the  sugar-growing  districts  that  irrigation  is  not 
needed.  Still,  there  are  places  where  it  has  been  found  neces- 
sary to  irrigate  freely,  owing  to  the  amount  of  rain  being  in- 
sufficient for  the  crop  needs.  In  such  cases,  wherever  prac- 
ticable, water  is  obtained  by  damming  rivers  and  streams  and 


AUSTRALIA  307 

is  distributed  over  the  cane  fields  through  ditches  by  gravity. 
Where,  however,  the  topography  of  the  country  does  not  admit 
of  this  being  done,  pumping  is  resorted  to  and  large  stations 
have  been  established  for  this  purpose.  The  yield  of  sugar  per 
acre  since  1894  has  been  1.688  tons  and  the  amount  of  sugar 
extracted  since  1904  averaged  10.95  Per  cen^  of  the  weight  of 
the  cane. 

The  federal  government  maintains  an  experiment  station  at 
Mackay  and  experiment  farms  have  been  laid  out  in  the  im- 
portant sugar  centers.  The  value  of  the  work  done  at  this  sta- 
tion cannot  be  too  highly  estimated.  The  scientists  in  charge 
are  constantly  on  the  lookout  for  new  varieties  of  cane  and  are 
on  the  alert  to  fight  diseases  and  pests.  The  chief  enemies  of 
the  cane  in  Queensland  are  cane  grub,  fungus  pest,  frosts  and 
floods. 

Today  Queensland  has  forty-eight  sugar  mills  and  two  re- 
fineries. Thirteen  of  the  mills  are  centrals  and  four  of  these  are 
under  state  control.  Additional  factories  are  under  construc- 
tion. 

Most  of  these  plants  are  equipped  with  three  sets  of  rollers 
and  modern  machinery,  the  capacity  ranging  from  70  to  960 
tons  of  cane  per  day. 

The  annual  production  of  sugar  in  Queensland  since  1894 
in  long  tons  has  been  as  follows : 

1894-95  91,712  1902-03  77,835 

1895-96  86,255  1903-04  89,862 

1896-97  109,774  1904-05  145,020 

1897-98  97,9*6  1905-06  152,259 

1898-99  163,734  1906-07  182,188 

1899-00  123,289  1907-08  185,063 

1900-01  92,554  1908-09  150,400 

1901-02  120,858  1909-10  132,816 


3o8  HISTORICAL 


1910-11 

207,340 

1913-14 

255,000 

1911-12 

176,076 

1914-15 

246,408 

1912-13 

113,060 

1915-16 

150,000 

1916-17 

200,000' 

Estimated. 


MAURITIUS 

GREAT  BRITAIN'S  island  colony,  Mauritius,  lies  in  the 
Indian  ocean  between  57  degrees  18  minutes  east  and 
57  degrees  49  minutes  east,  and  19  degrees  58  minutes 
and  20  degrees  32  minutes  south,  550  miles  from  Madagascar. 
Irregular  in  shape,  it  extends  36  miles  from  north-northeast  to 
south-southwest,  and  its  greatest  width  is  23  miles.  Its  area  is 
710  square  miles. 

Mauritius  is  of  volcanic  origin,  although  signs  of  volcanic  ac- 
tivity no  longer  exist.  It  is  encircled  by  a  coral  reef  which  is  sub- 
merged at  high  tide.  The  central  part  of  the  island  is  a  tableland 
that  rises  from  500  to  2700  feet  above  sea-level  and  occupies 
more  than  half  of  the  total  surface.  In  the  north  and  northeast- 
ern coast  regions  there  are  extensive  low  plains,  but  the  rest  of 
the  coast  territory  is  more  or  less  broken  by  hills.  The  registrar- 
general's  report  for  1908  gives  the  population  as  374,450. 

The  climate  is  agreeable  during  the  cool  season,  but  op- 
pressively hot  in  summer,  which  begins  in  December  and  ends 
in  March.  The  temperature  falls  from  April  to  June  and  rises 
again  from  June  to  December.  In  the  elevated  inland  plains  of 
the  interior  the  thermometer  ranges  from  70  to  80  degrees  Fah- 
renheit in  summer,  and  in  Port  Louis  and  the  coast  region  it 
runs  from  90  to  96  degrees  during  that  season.  The  average 
temperature  at  Port  Louis  is  78.6  degrees  Fahrenheit  through- 
out the  year. 

The  rainfall  varies  greatly  in  different  parts,  but  an  average 
of  ten  years  (1893-1902)  gave  79  inches  for  the  entire  island. 
Cyclones  are  frequent  and  generally  occur  between  December 
and  April. 


310  HISTORICAL 

The  soil  consists  chiefly  of  a  very  light  clay  formation,  easily 
penetrated  by  water.  In  some  localities  the  clay  is  deep  and 
evenly  deposited,  while  in  others  many  large  pieces  of  lava  are 
found  in  it,  so  that  ploughing  is  impossible. 

Mauritius  was  discovered  by  the  Portuguese  in  1505.  From 
1598  to  1710  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Dutch,  and  in  1715  it  was 
taken  by  France,  from  whom  it  was  wrested  by  the  British  in 
1810. 

The  Dutch  brought  sugar  cane  from  Java  to  Mauritius  in 
1650,  but  their  efforts  at  cultivation  were  not  successful. 

When  in  1741  de  la  Bourdonnais  was  appointed  administra- 
tor of  Mauritius,  or,  as  it  was  then  called,  Tile  de  France,  it 
was  a  crown  colony  under  the  control  of  the  French  East  India 
company.  The  island  was  without  agriculture  or  commerce  and 
the  inhabitants  were  sunk  in  indolence.  The  genius  of  the  new 
executive  brought  order  out  of  chaos,  and  his  example  and  as- 
sistance aroused  the  people  from  their  lethargy.  Sugar  cane 
was  again  imported  in  1747  and  in  1750  a  sugar  estate  was 
established  at  Pamplemousses  in  the  northern  part  of  the  island 
by  de  la  Villebague,  the  governor  s  brother.  The  industry  ex- 
panded and  was  carried  on  with  profit. 

In  1769  an  experiment  station  was  established  with  a  view 
to  furnishing  planters  with  the  knowledge  of  which  they  were 
so  sorely  in  need.  Agricultural  development,  however,  was  not 
carried  forward  to  any  great  extent  while  Mauritius  remained 
under  French  rule.  State  interference  with  the  planters  had  an 
unfortunate  effect,  and  besides  this  the  greater  number  of  the 
inhabitants  looked  upon  the  colony  not  as  a  permanent  home, 
but  as  a  means  to  acquire  sufficient  money  to  enable  them  to 
return  to  France  and  live  there  in  comfort.  The  authorities 
deemed  it  essential  that  the  colony  should  produce  the  greater 
part  of  its  foodstuffs,  while  the  planter  on  his  side  was  anx- 
ious to  grow  crops  that  he  believed  would  give  him  the  best 


MAURITIUS 

results  in  money;  for  example,  sugar,  cotton,  coffee,  indigo  and 
spices. 

In  1776  there  were  three  small  sugar  factories  on  the  island, 
and  in  1789  the  production  of  sugar  was  300  tons.  Disaster 
overtook  the  industry,  owing  to  conditions  that  made  the  cost 
of  the  mills  abnormally  great  and  the  extravagance  with  which 
they  were  operated.  In  consequence  many  of  those  who  built 
factories  were  ruined. 

Shortly  after  the  British  occupation  there  was  a  change  for 
the  better.  In  1816  the  production  of  sugar  was  4430  tons,  and 
from  that  time  forward  the  industry  made  continuous  and 
steady  progress.  The  planters  were  encouraged  and,  as  far  as 
could  be,  helped  in  their  operations,  while  the  policy  of  the 
government  developed  the  colony's  resources  and  established 
for  it  trade  relations  on  a  firm  basis  with  other  countries. 

The  method  of  extraction  of  sugar  from  the  cane  employed 
at  the  beginning  of  the  last  century  was  primitive  indeed.  The 
apparatus  consisted  of  a  solid,  heavy  table  made  of  thick  planks 
carefully  finished  and  having  a  perfectly  smooth  top.  It  was 
made  in  the  shape  of  a  parallelogram,  with  a  groove  or  gutter 
on  each  of  its  four  sides  and  an  opening  in  the  middle  of  each 
end  gutter.  Upon  this  table  was  a  huge,  heavy  cylinder  of  hard 
wood,  slightly  longer  than  the  width  of  the  table.  Three,  four, 
or  five  stalks  of  cane  were  placed  lengthwise  on  the  table  and 
submitted  to  pressure  by  rolling  the  cylinder  over  them  from 
one  end  to  the  other  and  back  again.  The  juice  thus  expressed 
from  the  cane  ran  into  the  gutters  at  the  sides  and  ends  and 
through  the  holes  into  two  tubs  placed  to  receive  it.  The  cane 
stalks  were  then  removed,  put  in  the  sun  to  dry  and  afterward 
used  as  fuel  in  the  boiling  of  the  sugar  juice.  This  operation 
was  repeated  until  a  sufficient  quantity  of  juice  was  obtained. 

From  the  tubs,  or  "bacs,"  the  juice  was  run  through  a  series 
of  kettles,  or  open-fire  caldrons,  for  concentration.  The  kettle 


3I2  HISTORICAL 

next  in  position  to  the  bac  into  which  the  juice  from  the  table 
fell  was  called  la  grande,  because  it  was  really  the  largest  of  the 
set.  It  was  farthest  from  the  fire  and  served  as  a  defecator.  As 
soon  as  the  juice  contained  in  it  became  heated,  a  thick,  creamy 
substance  formed  on  the  surface  and  was  immediately  skimmed 
off.  The  liquor  was  then  ladled  into  the  second  kettle,  where  the 
boiling  became  more  lively  on  account  of  closer  proximity  to 
the  furnace.  The  juice  bubbled  up  in  foam  and  at  this  point  the 
cleansing  process  began.  A  long,  flat  piece  of  wood  was  passed 
slowly  over  the  surf  ace' of  the  liquor,  thus  removing  certain  im- 
purities. Here  the  mixture  of  lime  begun  in  la  grande  was  con- 
tinued until  the  liquor  was  found  to  be  perfectly  clear. 

Passing  to  the  third  kettle,  the  liquor  was  reduced  to  syrup 
by  the  increased  heat.  It  was  concentrated  in  the  fourth  and 
boiled  to  grain  in  the  fifth.  Directly  under  the  fifth  and  last 
kettle  of  the  set  was  the  furnace,  which  was  fed  by  bagasse  and 
cane  trash. 

The  boiling  process  finished,  the  sugar  was  removed  from 
kettle  number  five  and  placed  on  tables,  where  it  remained  until 
it  had  to  be  taken  to  larger  tables  farther  on  to  make  room  for 
a  fresh  batch.  There  it  stood  with  other  boilings  until  the  fol- 
lowing morning.  Then  the  crystallized  mass  was  shoveled  into 
pots  and  carried  to  large  bins  constructed  so  that  the  liquor,  or 
syrup,  could  drain  off.  This  usually  took  from  fifteen  to  twenty 
days,  after  which  time  the  sugar  was  dug  out  by  pick  and  shov- 
el, put  into  baskets  and  taken  to  be  spread  out  in  the  sun  to  dry. 
After  two  to  three  hours  of  this  drying,  according  to  the  inten- 
sity of  the  sun's  rays,  the  sugar  was  packed  in  a  double  sack 
containing  about  135  pounds. 

By  such  means  little  more  than  one-third  of  the  sugar  in  the 
cane  could  have  been  recovered,  and  the  product  obtained  was 
heavy  and  dark  in  color. 

From  1816  to  1845  a  change  was  gradually  made  from  the 


MAURITIUS  313 

clumsy  apparatus  just  described  to  three-roller  vertical  mills, 
and  from  wind-  and  water-driven  mills  to  steam  power,  thus  in- 
creasing the  extraction.  No  perceptible  improvement  was  ef- 
fected in  field  methods  during  this  period. 

In  1852  a  number  of  vacuum  pans  and  centrifugal  machines 
were  in  use.  Some  eight  or  ten  years  later  the  efforts  made  to 
combat  the  diseases  of  the  cane  began  to  bear  fruit  and  the 
planters  of  the  coast  and  inland  estates  started  to  exchange 
cane  tops. 

During  the  period  of  1866  to  1875  single  crushing  was  almost 
universal.  A  few  factories  used  double  crushing  with  macera- 
tion, but  the  mills  were  not  powerful.  Marked  progress  was 
made  in  the  chemical  treatment  of  the  juice.  Shortly  afterward 
the  planters  began  to  appreciate  the  vital  importance  of  chemi- 
cal control  in  their  factories  and  scientific  principles  were  ap- 
plied to  the  culture  of  the  cane. 

Up  to  1835  tne  labor  in  the  fields  had  been  done  by  African 
negro  slaves.  The  emancipation  of  these  slaves  was  declared 
on  February  ist  of  that  year,  and  their  final  liberation  took 
place  in  March,  1839.  In  anticipation  of  this,  the  authorities 
had  arranged  five  years  previously  for  the  bringing  in  of  a 
number  of  immigrants  from  India,  and  from  that  time  down  to 
the  present  virtually  all  the  labor  required  in  the  cane  fields  has 
been  drawn  from  India.  In  1834  the  immigrants  from  India 
numbered  75  and  in  1908  the  Hindu  population  was  263,419. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  in  connection  with  the 
growth  of  the  sugar  industry  of  Mauritius  was  the  formation 
of  the  Chamber  of  Agriculture  in  1853.  This  body  fostered 
mutual  co-operation  and  interchange  of  ideas  among  the  plant- 
ers. It  exercised  its  influence  in  bringing  about  legislation  af- 
fecting agricultural  and  industrial  questions  and  the  develop- 
ment of  the  resources  of  the  colony.  The  Station  Agronomique, 
instituted  in  1893,  and  the  Bacteriological  Station  in  1908,  came 


314  HISTORICAL 

into  being  as  a  result  of  the  efforts  of  the  Chamber  of  Agricul- 
ture, to  which  credit  is  also  due  for  the  extension  of  the  cane- 
raising  area  to  its  present  proportions. 

During  the  last  hundred  years  the  island  of  Mauritius  has 
suffered  from  a  series  of  disasters — epidemics  of  cholera,  small- 
pox and  bubonic  plague,  hurricanes  and  droughts. 

In  1892  a  hurricane  of  extraordinary  violence  sowed  fright- 
ful devastation,  destroying  cane,  wrecking  houses  and  killing 
numbers  of  people.  Ten  years  later  nearly  all  the  draft  animals 
were  carried  off  by  surra,  a  deadly  cattle  disease,  which  made 
its  appearance  just  as  the  largest  crop  on  record  was  about  to 
be  harvested.  In  addition  to  the  direct  loss  of  horses,  mules  and 
cattle,  the  difficulties  of  transportation  delayed  the  work  of 
gathering  and  crushing  the  cane  long  after  its  maximum  rich- 
ness had  been  reached.  The  yield  for  the  1903  crop  was  thus 
appreciably  reduced,  and  the  growing  period  for  the  crop  of  the 
following  year  greatly  curtailed.  The  shortage  in  1903  has 
been  placed  at  11,000  tons,  while  that  for  1904  amounted  to 
23,000  tons.  These  losses  caused  such  distress  that  it  became 
necessary  to  invoke  state  aid,  which  was  provided  by  the  Me- 
chanical Transport  loan  of  1903. 

All  agricultural  centers  are  subject  to  crises  more  or  less 
serious  in  character,  and,  as  has  just  been  shown,  Mauritius  is 
no  exception  to  the  rule.  Depressions  resulting  from  crop  short- 
ages, however,  should  not  be  confounded  with  the  general 
troubles  that  have  seriously  menaced  the  cane-sugar  industry 
during  the  last  half  century,  almost  all  of  which  are  attribut- 
able to  the  competition  of  the  beet.  Over  sixty  years  ago  the 
Mauritian  planters  began  to  feel  apprehensive  concerning  the 
future  of  their  sugar  trade,  owing  to  the  rivalry  of  beet-root 
sugars  in  the  markets  of  Europe,  and  between  1870  and  1880 
the  prospects  were  indeed  gloomy.  What  chance  had  the  cane- 
sugar-growing  dependencies  of  Great  Britain  against  bounty- 


MAURITIUS 

fed  beet  sugars  raised  on  the  continent?  If  the  increased  pro- 
duction had  taken  place  in  the  cane  industry,  the  disturbance 
in  trade  conditions  would  have  been  gradually  overcome  by  a 
process  of  natural  adjustment.  But  unfortunately  for  the  cane 
planters,  the  enormous  extension  of  sugar-raising  possibilities 
by  new  means  in  territory  not  hitherto  available  found  them 
totally  unprepared  to  cope  successfully  with  this  new  competi- 
tion. 

In  1885  the  Chamber  of  Agriculture  instituted  an  inquiry 
into  the  causes  that  had  brought  the  cane  trade  to  such  a  criti- 
cal state.  The  attention  of  the  planters  was  called  to  the  im- 
proved methods  employed  by  the  beet-sugar  manufacturers  and 
to  the  rapidity  with  which  their  trade  was  expanding.  The 
cane  growers  were  earnestly  urged  to  take  steps  to  meet  the 
conditions  that  confronted  them.  Manifestly  the  cost  in  field 
and  factory  was  too  high.  The  task  of  working  out  the  problem 
took  considerable  time  and  involved  the  outlay  of  vast  sums 
of  money.  It  was  all  the  more  difficult  because  of  the  necessity 
for  finding  new  capital  in  the  face  of  decreasing  revenue,  but  it 
was  undertaken  with  courage  and  perseverance,  and  the  results 
have  justified  the  efforts  put  forth  and  the  sacrifices  made. 

The  growers  of  sugar  cane  in  Mauritius  have  adjusted  them- 
selves to  the  new  conditions.  They  have  reduced  plantation  and 
manufacturing  costs,  and  scientific  methods  have  enabled  them 
to  grow  cane  profitably  on  land  which  could  not  possibly  have 
been  cultivated  in  the  old  way  without  severe  loss.  Crude  pro- 
cesses have  given  way  to  the  modern  sugar  factory  with  its 
up-to-date  roller  mills,  clarifiers,  triple  effects,  vacuum  pans 
and  centrifugal  machines,  and  the  chemical  engineer  has 
changed  the  dark  mixture  of  crystals  and  molasses  into  an  al- 
most pure  white  granulated  sugar. 

The  crop  for  the  season  of  1915-16  amounted  to  215,528  tons. 

A  great  deal  in  the  way  of  improvement  in  cultivation  still 


3l6  HISTORICAL 

remains  to  be  done,  but  it  may  be  truly  said  that  the  island  has 
fought  its  way  into  the  front  ranks  of  sugar-producing  coun- 
tries. With  its  natural  advantages  of  climate  and  soil,  the  enor- 
mous possibilities  of  irrigation  and  development  of  water 
power,  the  accessibility  of  an  unlimited  supply  of  Asiatic  labor, 
and  the  markets  of  India,  Africa  and  Australia  at  its  doors, 
there  is  ample  justification  of  high  hopes  for  the  future. 

Yearly  output  of  sugar,  exclusive  of  local  consumption,  since 
1895: 

1895  143,000  tons  1906          220,000  tons 

1896  153,000     "  1907          170,000     " 

1897  124,000     "  1908          205,758     " 

1898  183,000     "  1909          244,597     " 

1899  161,000     "  1910          226,099     " 

1900  190,000     "  1911  164,260     " 

1901  155,000     "  1912          206,497     " 

1902  142,000     "  1913          249,800     " 

1903  218,000     "  1914          277,164    " 

1904  142,101     "  1915          215,528     " 

1905  188,364      "  1916  220,000'     " 

*  Estimated. 


NATAL 

ON  Christmas  day,  1497,  Vasco  da  Gama,  then  on  a  voy- 
age to  India,  sighted  the  entrance  to  what  is  now  Dur- 
ban harbor,  and  named  the  country  Terra  Natalis. 

This  maritime  province  of  the  British  Union  of  South  Africa 
lies  approximately  between  27  degrees  and  31  degrees  south 
latitude  and  29  degrees  and  33  degrees  east  longitude.  On  the 
southeast  it  is  bounded  by  the  Indian  ocean,  on  the  southwest 
by  the  Cape  province  and  Basutoland,  on  the  northwest  by  the 
Orange  Free  State  and  on  the  north  and  northeast  by  the 
Transvaal  and  Portuguese  East  Africa.  Its  coast  line  is  376 
miles  long  and  its  area  is  35,371  square  miles.  It  is  divided  into 
two  parts,  Natal  proper  and  Zululand,  the  former  comprising 
24,910  square  miles  and  the  latter  10,461  square  miles.  In  1908 
the  population,  including  that  of  Zululand,  was  1,206,386,  of 
whom  91,443  were  European,  998,264  'natives  and  116,679 
Asiatics. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  of  terrace  formation.  The  coast 
strip  south  of  Durban  is  quite  narrow,  but  north  of  that  point  it 
becomes  wider  and  more  level.  Ranges  of  hills  roll  back  to  the 
first  plateau,  which  is  about  2000  feet  above  the  sea.  The  second 
plateau  rises  sharply  between  4000  and  5000  feet  and  extends  to 
the  Drakensberg  mountains,  whose  base  is  from  6000  to  7000 
feet  in  elevation,  and  in  which  all  the  rivers  of  Natal,  except  the 
coast  streams,  have  their  source. 

Natal's  sugar  plantations  are  situated  in  the  low,  moist  re- 
gions of  the  coast  zone,  between  28  degrees  and  30  degrees 
south  latitude,  i.  e.,  quite  a  distance  below  the  tropic  of  Capri- 
corn. The  industry  had  its  beginning  in  1850,  when  the  first 


318  HISTORICAL 

cane  was  brought  from  Mauritius.  Operations  did  not  amount 
to  much  at  the  outset;  a  limited  amount  of  cane  was  ground  in 
small  mills  and  the  juice  was  boiled  into  sugar.  In  1878,  how- 
ever, a  factory  with  the  newest  equipment  of  that  time  was 
erected  at  Mount  Edgecombe  by  Mauritius  people.  Hencefor- 
ward, the  production  of  sugar  in  the  colony  has  shown  a  steady 
growth,  and  today  there  are  thirty-four  factories  in  active  oper- 
ation with  an  output  of  about  100,000  tons  of  sugar  per  annum. 

The  climate  of  the  valleys  and  the  coast  belt  is  hot  and  humid. 
Summer,  beginning  in  October  and  ending  in  March,  is  the  wet 
season,  while  May,  June  and  July  are  the  driest  months.  At 
Durban  the  temperature  ranges  from  42  degrees  Fahrenheit  in 
winter  to  98  degrees  Fahrenheit  in  summer,  the  mean  being 
70  degrees,  and  both  the  temperature  and  the  humidity  are  af- 
fected by  the  Mozambique  current  that  flows  southward  from 
the  equator.  The  annual  rainfall  at  Durban  is  about  40  inches 
and  the  average  for  the  province  is  placed  at  30  inches. 

The  kind  of  cane  most  generally  grown  in  Natal  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  the  Uba,  a  hard,  yellow  variety  that  was  brought 
from  Hindustan.  For  fertilization,  stable  manure,  cane  ash  and 
phosphates  are  employed.  Owing  to  the  geographical  position 
of  the  country,  it  takes  longer  than  usual  for  the  cane  to  ripen. 
Plant  cane  matures  in  two  years  and  first  and  second  ratoons 
in  eighteen  months  for  each  crop.  So  five  years'  time  is  neces- 
sary to  produce  three  crops,  and  at  the  end  of  this  period  re- 
planting is  done.  After  the  cane  is  cut,  it  is  loaded  on  railway 
cars  for  transportation  to  the  mill.  All  of  the  raw  sugar  pro- 
duced in  Natal  is  refined  there,  except  what  is  consumed  in  a 
raw  state.  In  addition  to  the  sugar  made  in  the  province,  quite 
a  little  is  imported  from  foreign  countries,  as  Natal  distributes 
a  good  deal  of  the  commodity  in  adjoining  states.  The  home 
industry  is  protected  by  a  duty  of  $1.215  Per  II2  pounds  on  for- 
eign sugar,  while  no  duty  is  assessed  on  sugar  going  from  one 


NATAL  319 

province  to  another  throughout  the  British  Union  of  South 
Africa. 

Formerly  the  most  desirable  laborers  came  from  India,  but 
recently  the  Indian  government  has  stopped  the  exportation 
of  natives  of  that  country  as  plantation  laborers,  so  Natal,  like 
many  other  sugar-growing  sections,  has  its  labor  problems. 

The  production  in  long  tons  since  1894  has  been  as  follows: 


i894 

19,369 

1905 

26,158 

1895 

20,508 

1906 

2i,479 

1896 

20,651 

1907 

24,223 

1897 

20,245 

1908 

31,999 

1898 

29,186 

1909 

77,491 

1899 

Boer  war 

1910 

84,437 

1900 

16,689 

1911 

92,000 

1901 

36,662 

1912 

82,589 

1902 

21,095 

1913 

85,714 

1903 

33,944 

1914 

91,619 

1904 

19,238 

19*5 

100,000 

1916 

125,000' 

1  Estimated. 


EGYPT 

EGYPT,  the  northeastern  corner  of  the  African  continent, 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the  Mediterranean  sea,  on 
the  northeast  by  Palestine,  on  the  east  by  the  Red  sea 
and  on  the  west  by  Tripoli  and  the  Sahara.  The  22nd  parallel 
of  north  latitude  is  the  dividing  line  between  it  and  the  Sudan 
on  the  south.  Its  area  is  about  400,000  square  miles,  of  which 
by  far  the  greater  part  is  desert;  it  has  been  truly  said  that  the 
principal  features  of  Egypt  are  the  desert  and  the  Nile. 

In  1907  the  entire  population  was  11,189,978,  exclusive  of 
nomadic  Bedouin  tribes,  who  numbered  about  97,000.  Of  these 
10,366,046  were  Egyptians,  735,012  settled  Bedouins,  65,162 
Nubians  and  221,139  foreigners — British,  Italians,  Turks  and 
Greeks. 

The  wonderful  fertility  of  the  soil  of  the  valley  of  the  Nile 
is  due  to  the  annual  inundation  caused  by  the  melting  of  the 
snows  and  the  spring  rains  in  the  region  in  which  the  Blue  Nile 
has  its  source.  The  turbulent  waters  of  the  swollen  stream 
rush  down  the  Nubian  valley  laden  with  rich  loam  from  the 
mountains  of  Abyssinia,  and  this  is  deposited  upon  the  flat 
plains  on  either  side  when  the  river  overflows  its  banks.  The 
period  of  high  water  begins  in  June  and  lasts  until  the  end  of 
September. 

The  rainfall  is  slight  and  there  are  years  when  there  is  none 
whatever.  Crops,  therefore,  depend  upon  irrigation,  and  power- 
ful pumping  plants  supply  the  needs  of  the  large  estates,  while 
the  small  native  holdings  depend  upon  water-wheels  worked 
by  buffaloes  or  by  the  natives  themselves.  The  irrigation  possi- 
bilities of  the  country  were  greatly  extended  by  the  huge  dam 


EGYPT  321 

constructed  by  the  government  at  Assuan  in  1902.  In  the  cane- 
raising  country,  the  average  temperature  in  summer  ranges  be- 
tween 82  degrees  and  no  degrees  Fahrenheit,  and  between  50 
degrees  and  86  degrees  in  winter.  Cool  nights  are  the  rule  and 
occasionally  there  is  a  killing  frost. 

Sugar  was  introduced  in  Egypt  by  the  Moslems  when  they 
conquered  the  country,  640-646  A.  D.,  and  the  Egyptians  were 
quick  to  apply  their  knowledge  of  chemistry  to  its  preparation. 
By  remelting  the  first  crystals,  then  treating  the  liquor  with 
lime  and  albumen,  removing  the  suspended  impurities  by  filtra- 
tion, boiling  to  grain  once  more  and  purging  the  crystals  of 
their  syrup  by  washing,  they  succeeded  in  making  a  sugar  far 
superior  to  that  produced  elsewhere.  The  cultivation  of  cane 
prospered  and  the  excellence  of  the  sugar  manufactured  in 
Egypt  was  maintained  throughout  the  Middle  Ages,  until  the 
conquest  by  the  Turks  in  1517.  Ottoman  dominion  ruined 
Egypt  industrially.  A  little  sugar  cane  continued  to  be  raised 
and  some  sugar  was  made,  but  on  so  unimportant  a  scale  as  to 
be  hardly  deserving  of  mention.  This  state  of  affairs  lasted 
until  1850,  when  Ismail  Pasha  (afterward  khedive,  1863-79,) 
caused  sugar  cane  to  be  brought  from  Jamaica  and  five  years 
later  the  government  took  steps  to  foster  sugar  manufacture. 
In  1877  a  change  came  about,  through  which  the  control  of  the 
factories  passed  from  the  hands  of  the  khedive  to  a  govern- 
ment committee,  under  whose  auspices  several  new  mills  were 
constructed.  In  1896  the  output  of  sugar  reached  75,000  tons. 
The  factories  operated  by  the  government  body  were  sold  in 
1903  to  a  French  corporation,  known  as  the  "Societe  Generale 
des  Sucreries  d'Egypte,"  which  some  years  previous  had  built 
three  factories  of  its  own.  By  this  purchase  the  French  company 
practically  obtained  a  monopoly  of  the  sugar  business  of  the 
country.  The  financial  crisis  of  1905  proved  a  setback,  but  after 
the  trouble  arising  from  this  had  passed,  the  company  formu- 


322  HISTORICAL 

lated  plans  for  enlarging  its  plantations  and  grinding  an  in- 
creased amount  of  cane. 

Sugar  cane  is  grown  along  the  Nile  banks  from  a  short  dis- 
tance above  Cairo  up  to  Assuan,  or  between  24  degrees  and 
30  degrees  north  latitude,  a  stretch  of  more  than  four  hundred 
miles.  In  width,  however,  this  territory  is  confined  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  Nile,  which  is  only  twelve  miles  wide  at  the  extreme 
and  narrowing  to  very  much  less.  The  agricultural  possibilities 
of  the  eastern  or  right  bank  are  not  so  great  as  those  of  the  left, 
owing  to  the  fact  that  it  is  mountainous  in  many  places.  Conse- 
quently most  of  the  cane  and  all  of  the  sugar  factories  are  to 
be  found  on  the  left  (western)  bank. 

Ploughing  is  done  in  autumn  and  the  ground  is  further  pre- 
pared during  the  following  February;  the  furrows  are  then 
made;  shortly  afterward  the  cane  is  planted, covered  with  earth 
and  the  water  is  turned  in.  Irrigation  is  kept  up  until  the  end 
of  October,  when  it  is  discontinued  for  two  or  three  weeks  to 
allow  the  cane  to  ripen.  Harvesting  begins  in  December  and 
lasts  until  April.  The  cane  when  cut  is  transported  by  camels 
to  the  railway  and  thence  to  the  mill.  The  customary  procedure 
is  to  raise  one  crop  of  plant  cane,  one  crop  of  ratoons  and  one 
crop  of  cotton  or  beans  in  succession,  allowing  the  land  to  lie 
fallow  the  fourth  year,  and  so  on  every  four  years. 

The  yield  of  cane  per  acre  depends  upon  the  soil,  the  ade- 
quacy of  the  water  supply  and  the  temperature  ruling  during 
the  period  of  growth ;  the  average  from  plant  cane  is  twenty- 
four  tons  and  from  ratoons  sixteen  tons. 

The  factories  depend  upon  cane  furnished  by  the  growers, 
either  large  plantation  owners  or  small  farmers  who  cultivate 
a  few  acres  of  rented  land,  and  one  of  the  serious  problems 
which  they  have  to  face  is  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  an  ade- 
quate supply.  The  capacity  of  the  factories  is  large,  the  machin- 
ery is  modern  and  they  could  easily  take  care  of  a  much  larger 


EGYPT  323 

cane  tonnage  than  they  have  been  able  to  secure.  An  improve- 
ment is  looked  for  as  a  result  of  more  liberal  terms  recently 
offered  to  growers.  The  bulk  of  the  output  is  raw  centrifugal 
sugar,  famous  under  the  name  of  "Egyptian  crystals/'  and 
much  sought  after  for  flavoring  chewing  tobacco.  The  vine- 
yardists  of  the  Champagne  district  in  France  get  from  Egypt 
the  sugar  used  in  making  their  sparkling  wines,  as  they  hold 
that  cane  sugar  is  the  only  kind  that  will  not  hurt  the  flavor  of 
the  champagne. 

According  to  Willett  &  Gray  the  yearly  crops  in  long  tons 
since  1903  were: 

1903-04  60,000  1909-10  52»525 

1904-05  60,000  1910-11  49,394 

1905-06  65,000  1911-12  57,879 

1906-07  42,195  iQ12-^  75^0 

1907-08  55,648  I9I3-H  69,368 

1908-09  34,835  I9H-I5  75>738 
1915-16     no,ooox 

1  Estimated. 


SPAIN 

SPAIN  lies  in  the  extreme  southwest  of  Europe  and  it  em- 
braces about  eleven-thirteenths  of  the  Iberian  peninsula. 
Its  total  area  is  194,700  square  miles,  and  in  1914  the  pop- 
ulation numbered  19,712,585. 

It  is  said  that  Phoenician  traders  reached  there  as  early  as 
the  eleventh  century  before  the  Christian  era.  In  238  B.  C,  or 
three  years  after  the  close  of  the  first  Punic  war,  Hamilcar 
Barca,  the  famous  Carthaginian  general,  crossed  from  Africa 
into  Spain,  taking  with  him  his  son-in-law,  Hasdrubal,  and  his 
son  Hannibal,  both  of  whom  were  destined  to  play  great  parts 
in  the  coming  struggle  between  Carthage  and  Rome.  From  a 
few  trading  posts,  Hamilcar  extended  the  Carthaginian  domin- 
ion in  Spain  to  that  of  a  great  province,  that  not  only  proved  a 
source  of  immense  revenue,  but  that  also  furnished  a  never- 
failing  supply  of  warlike  troops  for  the  armies  of  Carthage.  The 
second  Punic  war  ended  the  sway  of  the  Carthaginians  in 
Spain,  and  from  201  B.  C.  until  406  A.D.  the  country  was  under 
Roman  rule.  Then  came  the  barbarian  invasion  and  the  Visi- 
gothic  kings,  whose  power  was  shattered  in  turn  when  the  Ber- 
ber Tarik  defeated  King  Roderic  in  711.  For  centuries  after- 
ward the  struggle  of  reconquest  went  on  until  Granada,  the 
only  remaining  Mohammedan  stronghold,  surrendered  to  Fer- 
dinand and  Isabella  on  January  2,  1492.  That  same  year,  under 
the  auspices  of  these  sovereigns,  Columbus  set  out  on  his  first 
journey  westward,  and  with  his  discovery  of  America  came  a 
revolution  in  the  sugar  industry  of  the  world. 

Spain  is  the  only  cane-sugar-producing  country  in  Europe. 
Sugar  cane  was  brought  there  by  the  Arabs  when  they  con- 


SPAIN  325 

quered  Granada,  and  its  cultivation  had  assumed  important 
proportions  in  that  kingdom  at  the  time  of  the  expulsion  of  the 
Moors.  The  introduction  of  the  plant  in  America  had  a  serious 
effect  upon  sugar  production  in  Spain  and  other  countries  of 
the  Old  world,  and  over  three  hundred  years  later  the  Spanish 
growers  of  cane  had  to  meet  the  competition  of  the  beet  sugar 
of  central  Europe.  Finally  the  loss  of  her  colonies  in  1898  stimu- 
lated the  industry  in  the  mother  country  by  relieving  the  Span- 
ish planter  from  protected  competition  in  his  home  market.  In 
1903  Spain  had  fifty  beet-sugar  factories,  thirty-two  cane-sugar 
mills,  fifteen  syrup  mills,  eleven  refineries  and  two  factories  that 
turned  out  sorghum  sugar  and  glucose.  Shortly  afterward, 
however,  prices  in  Spain  dropped  below  the  cost  of  production, 
so  that  a  period  of  profit  was  followed  by  a  period  of  heavy  loss. 
As  a  result  of  this  state  of  affairs,  the  Sociedad  General  Azuca- 
rera  de  Espafia  was  formed.  This  organization  comprised  forty- 
three  beet  factories,  thirteen  cane  factories  and  thirteen  other 
mills,  and  its  object  was  to  limit  the  number  of  mills  in  opera- 
tion and  to  introduce  greater  efficiency  into  cultivation  meth- 
ods. The  plan  did  not  prove  successful,  and  finally,  after  lengthy 
discussions  between  the  Sociedad  General,  the  independent  pro- 
ducers and  the  government,  it  was  decided  to  fix  the  excise  tax 
on  sugar  at  thirty-five  pesetas  per  220.4  pounds,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  no  new  factory  should  be  built  within  a  fifty-mile 
radius  of  any  factory  in  operation.  The  output  of  each  mill  was 
fixed  every  year  between  the  owner  and  the  government,  and  if 
this  amount  should  be  exceeded  the  surplus  was  debited  to  the 
factory  for  the  following  year. 

Early  in  1916  a  royal  decree  authorized  a  reduction  in  the  im- 
port duty  on  sugar  from  60  to  25  pesetas  per  100  kilograms. 
Since  then  there  has  been  a  heavy  increase  in  imports,  and  the 
government  is  now  being  importuned  to  restore  the  tariff  pro- 
tection, lest  the  home  industry  be  destroyed  altogether. 


326  HISTORICAL 

The  cultivation  of  sugar  cane  in  Spain  is  decreasing  year  by 
year  on  account  of  competition  from  the  beet.  The  area  devoted 
to  cane  culture  in  1913  was  9900  acres,  while  in  1915  it  had 
dwindled  to  4069  acres.  The  plantations  are  situated  in  the 
provinces  that  border  on  the  Mediterranean  coast  between  Gib- 
raltar and  Almeria,  or,  roughly  speaking,  between  36  and  38 
degrees  north  latitude,  a  long  way  outside  of  the  tropics,  but 
where  the  climate  is  warm  and  free  from  frost  nevertheless. 

Three  varieties  of  cane  are  grown:  the  white,  the  red  and  the 
striped,  and  the  kind  selected  is  determined  by  the  nature  of  the 
soil.  White  cane  requires  a  good  soil  with  plenty  of  fertiliza- 
tion; red  cane  needs  a  deep  soil  carrying  a  large  amount  of 
moisture  and  also  well  manured.  The  striped  cane  calls  for  the 
same  conditions  as  the  red  and  gives  about  the  same  weight  of 
cane  per  acre.  The  method  of  planting  is  similar  with  all  three. 
A  cane  crop  is  raised  every  fourth  year  on  land  that  has  previ- 
ously been  planted  in  wheat,  maize,  barley  or  sweet  potatoes. 
The  fields  are  ploughed  deeply  in  January  and  February  and 
the  ground  is  well  fertilized.  During  March  the  furrows  are 
made  three  and  one-half  feet  apart,  one  foot  deep  and  eight 
inches  wide,  and  more  manure  is  added  when  it  is  thought  to  be 
necessary.  Sulphate  of  ammonia,  nitrates,  basic  slag,  fish  guano 
and  phosphates,  as  well  as  stable  manure,  are  used  for  fertil- 
izing. 

Two  rows  of  seed  cane  are  placed  in  each  furrow,  so  that  the 
amount  of  seed  required  is  large,  being  about  9800  pounds  to 
the  acre.  The  reason  for  this  is  that  in  the  moderate  climate 
of  Malaga,  Granada  and  Almeria  the  formation  of  secondary 
stalks  is  not  certain,  conseqently  there  must  be  ample  provision 
for  a  sufficient  number  of  primary  stalks.  As  soon  as  the  seed  is 
planted  it  is  covered  with  a  layer  of  earth  and  enough  water  to 
moisten  the  ground  effectually  is  turned  into  the  furrows.  These 
waterings  are  continued  as  often  as  necessary  while  the  crop  is 


SPAIN  327 

growing,  and  the  cane  is  banked  from  time  to  time.  Finally  the 
land  is  leveled  and  the  last  banking  done.  The  furrows  now  ap- 
pear raised  above  the  surface  instead  of  being  below  it  as  at 
first.  Water  is  turned  on  at  the  proper  point  and  allowed  to  run 
over  the  entire  field,  and  this  operation  is  repeated  every  ten  or 
fifteen  days  during  the  summer. 

The  crop  is  ready  to  be  cut  one  year  after  planting,  so  that 
harvesting  and  grinding  begin  in  March  and  are  finished  in 
May.  As  soon  as  the  cane  is  cut  it  is  stripped  of  its  leaves  and 
taken  to  the  mill.  Part  of  the  leaves  is  utilized  as  straw  for  the 
cattle  and  the  remainder  is  burnt.  If  it  should  be  decided  to  fol- 
low this  crop  by  one  of  ratoon  cane,  the  spaces  between  the 
rows  are  then  ploughed,  fertilizer  is  added  and  the  process  of 
irrigation  and  banking  is  kept  up  until  the  ratoons  reach  ma- 
turity. 

In  1910  there  were  thirty-four  cane  mills  in  Spain,  divided 
into  two  classes :  first,  the  trapiche,a  small  affair  where  the  juice 
obtained  from  the  little  cane  that  is  ground  is  made  into  table 
syrup,  and,  second,  the  fabrica,  where  white  and  yellow  sugars 
and  molasses  are  manufactured.  The  average  fabrica  is  well 
equipped  and  managed.  The  diffusion  method  of  extracting  the 
juice  from  the  cane  is  employed  to  a  large  extent.  At  the  begin- 
ning of  the  refining  process  the  juice  is  treated  with  sulphur 
and  lime,  after  which  it  is  clarified  in  the  usual  way.  The  heavy 
impurities  are  removed  by  bag  filters  and  the  clear  juice  is  de- 
colorized by  filtration  through  bone -char.  The  first  liquor 
is  boiled  to  a  fine-grained  massecuite,  which  is  purged  of  its 
mother  liquor  in  centrifugal  machines  and  dried  in  large  cones1 
of  white  sugar,  which  are  broken  up  into  small  pieces  and  used 
in  that  form.  A  fine  white  granulated  sugar  is  boiled  from  the 
second  liquor,  while  from  the  third  and  fourth  liquors  soft  yel- 
low sugars  are  made.  The  final  molasses  is  distilled  into  alcohol. 

1  From  10  to  15  pounds  in  weight. 


328  HISTORICAL 

That  the  outlook  for  the  cane-sugar  industry  is  far  from 
promising  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that  the  output  has  fallen  off 
from  34,548  tons  in  1900  to  6,359  tons  *n  I9I5-  The  area  avail- 
able for  cane  culture  is  limited  and  too  far  from  the  tropics  to 
give  satisfactory  crop  results.  Then  again,  a  high  surtax  has 
had  the  effect  of  restricting  the  consumption,  which  at  the  pres- 
ent time  is  somewhere  in  the  neighborhood  of  150,000  tons  per 
annum,  all  told. 

As  the  foregoing  figures  show,  nearly  all  the  country's  re- 
quirements are  served  by  beet  sugar,  concerning  which  a  word 
or  two  may  be  timely  at  this  point. 

In  1899,  the  year  following  the  conclusion  of  the  Spanish- 
American  war,  which  cost  Spain  her  colonies,  the  duty  upon 
foreign  sugar  brought  into  that  country  was  increased  from 
fifty  pesetas  to  eighty-five  pesetas  per  220.4  pounds,  and  the  ex- 
cise tax  was  fixed  at  twenty-five  pesetas.  This  legislation  effec- 
tually barred  out  the  foreign  article  and  at  the  same  time  stim- 
ulated the  home  industry.  Much  capital  that  was  withdrawn 
from  the  lost  colonies  was  invested  in  the  culture  of  sugar  beets 
and  the  manufacture  of  beet  sugar.  The  profits  realized  from 
these  operations  were  very  large  at  first,  which  naturally  led  to 
expansion  and  finally  overproduction. 

During  the  year  ending  July  i,  1913,  the  total  amount  of  beet 
sugar  turned  out  was  156,892  tons.  In  1914  the  production 
amounted  to  140,394  tons,  representing  the  output  of  thirty- 
three  factories.  The  latest  information  obtainable  gives  the 
number  of  factories  as  thirty-eight,  and  two-thirds  of  these  are 
said  to  be  controlled  by  the  so-called  "Sugar  Trust  of  Spain." 

PRODUCTION  OF  CANE  SUGAR1  CONSUMPTION 

1904  22,175 tons         98,043  tons 

1905  28,819  "          107,191  " 

1906  15,722  " 

1  Willett  &  Gray,  January  13, 1916. 


SPAIN  329 

PRODUCTION  OF  CANE  SUGAR  CONSUMPTION 


1907 

16,092  tons 

113,968 

tons 

1908 

14,057  " 

117,190 

" 

1909 

21,669  " 

104,740 

" 

igio 

20,301  " 

133,608 

tt 

1911 

20,295 

130,769 

" 

1912 

16,176 

143,664 

" 

1913 

13,231 

143,826 

" 

1914 

7,376 

126,425 

" 

1915 

6,359  " 

156,618 

" 

INDIA 

TO  ALL  intents  and  purposes,  India  is  a  continent  rather 
than  a  country.  It  is  triangular  in  shape,  with  its  base 
resting  upon  the  Himalayas  and  its  apex  running  far 
out  into  the  ocean.  To  the  east  is  the  bay  of  Bengal  and  to  the 
west  the  Arabian  sea.  Its  length  from  north  to  south  and  its 
greatest  width  from  east  to  west  are  both  about  1900  miles.  The 
Indian  empire,  including  Burma,  comprises  1,766,000  square 
miles,  with  294,000,000  inhabitants.  It  extends  from  8  degrees 
to  37  degrees  north  latitude,  which  means  from  the  hottest 
tropical  regions  to  a  point  well  within  the  temperate  zone,  so 
that  it  would  be  idle  to  attempt  to  describe  here  the  variety  of 
formation  and  climate. 

In  this,  the  birthplace  of  sugar  cane,  accurate  information 
regarding  the  state  of  the  industry  is  extremely  hard  to  obtain, 
for  various  reasons,  among  which  may  be  mentioned — 

First:  In  certain  portions  of  the  empire  very  indifferent  at- 
tention is  paid  to  the  compilation  of  reliable  statistics  concern- 
ing production. 

Second :  The  raising  of  sugar  cane  is  not  carried  on  by  large 
interests,  but  is  divided  among  a  vast  number  of  small  farmers, 
so  that  it  is  doubly  difficult  to  secure  dependable  data  concern- 
ing the  yield  and  manufacture. 

Third :  By  no  means  all  of  the  cane  that  is  grown  goes  to  the 
sugar  mills  to  be  ground.  Much  of  it  is  chewed  or  eaten  in  the 
stalk,  and  the  manufacturing  process  itself  is, in  most  instances, 
very  primitive.  So  it  is  clear  that  even  where  the  acreage 
planted  to  cane  is  accurately  known,  it  would  be  a  difficult 
matter  to  determine  the  result  in  sugar. 


SUGAR  MILL,  NAHAN  FACTORY,  INDIA 


INDIA 

The  area  devoted  to  cane  varies  year  by  year  and  runs  be- 
tween 2,500,000  and  3,000,000  acres,  chiefly  in  the  United  Prov- 
inces, Bengal  and  the  Punjab,  although  the  northwest  provin- 
ces, Madras,  Bombay,  central  provinces,  the  Rajput  states,  and 
Burma  contribute.  As  the  cane-sugar  crop  of  India  is  estimated 
to  be  between  2,225,000  and  2,500,000  tons,  it  would  appear  that 
the  sugar  realized  per  acre  is  something  near  one  ton  on  an 
average,  as  against  five  and  one-half  tons  in  Hawaii.  However, 
there  is  a  good  deal  of  uncertainty  regarding  the  figures,  and 
some  authorities  consider  the  total  crop  very  much  larger  than 
the  amount  just  mentioned. 

The  general  practice  in  India  is  to  plant  the  cane  each  year, 
and  ratooning  is  seldom  met  with  outside  of  the  Poonah  dis- 
trict. For  fertilization,  stable  manure,  town  refuse  and  crushed 
oil  cake  are  used.  The  cane  is  planted  from  February  to  April 
and  harvested  from  the  middle  of  January  to  the  middle  of 
March  of  the  year  following.  Water  for  irrigation  purposes  is 
taken  from  rivers  and  wells.  Climatic  conditions  are  frequently 
unfavorable.  There  are  long  dry  spells,  the  low-lying  lands  are 
subject  to  floods  in  the  rainy  season,  and  in  certain  sections 
frost  plays  havoc  with  the  cane. 

Not  only  was  India  the  original  home  of  sugar  cane,  but,  ac- 
cording to  recognized  authorities,  the  secret  of  preparing  sugar 
from  cane  juice,  which  dates  from  the  seventh  century,  also 
came  from  there.  Today  modern  methods  are  employed  to  a 
certain  extent,  but  the  original  processes  predominate,  and  a 
word  or  two  concerning  the  latter  will  no  doubt  prove  inter- 
esting. 

The  cane  is  cut  into  short  lengths,  placed  in  a  kind  of  mortar 
and  crushed  with  a  large  pestle,  worked  by  oxen.  The  juice 
runs  through  a  hole  in  the  side  of  the  mortar  into  a  vessel 
placed  to  receive  it.  The  practice  in  former  days  was  to  saw  off 
a  good-sized  tamarind  tree  about  three  feet  above  the  ground 


332  HISTORICAL 

and  then  scoop  out  the  stump.  Later,  logs  were  sunk  deep  in 
the  ground  and  hollowed  out  in  the  same  manner.  Stone  mor- 
tars followed,  meeting  with  great  favor,  so  that  the  advent  of 
iron  roller  mills  was  delayed  for  many  years. 

In  the  mortar-and-pestle  operation  of  cane  grinding,  the 
pestle  consists  of  a  lever  with  two  arms.  The  crushing  end  of 


WOODEN  MILL  FROM  GORAKHPUR,  INDIA 


the  principal  arm  rests  on  the  side  of  the  mortar  and  the  cane 
is  ground  between  the  pestle  and  the  mortar  wall.  The  appa- 
ratus is  driven  by  oxen. 

This  method  was  improved  upon  by  the  introduction  of  the 
mill  with  two-geared  wooden  rolls  set  vertically,  the  core  of 
the  taller  one  projecting  upward  through  a  frame  and  attached 
to  a  horizontal  lever  to  which  the  oxen  are  harnessed.  When 
the  mill  is  started  the  cane  is  fed  between  the  wooden  gears  and 


INDIA 


333 


the  juice  expressed  in  this  manner.  A  further  development 
brought  in  geared  iron  cylinders  or  drums,  in  sets  of  two  and 
three.  The  extraction  by  these  means  is  extremely  poor,  rang- 
ing from  50  per  cent  to  62  per  cent. 

Indian  sugar  makers  treat  the  cane  juice  in  many  ways,  but 
all  the  various  grades  or  kinds  produced  come  under  one  of 
two  general  heads,  gur  or  rob. 

When  making  gur  the  juice  is  first  freed  from  floating  par- 


STONE  MILL,  AGRA,  INDIA 


tides  of  cane  by  straining.  It  is  then  run  into  a  large  earthen 
vessel  sunk  in  the  ground.  From  there  it  is  ladled  into  smaller 
pans  placed  above  a  furnace,  which  is  a  very  primitive  affair, 
generally  with  three  pans  and  having  side  walls  of  tiles  or  brick. 
Cane  trash  and  bagasse  are  used  as  fuel.  When  the  juice  in  the 
first  pan  begins  to  boil,  a  thick  scum  forms  on  the  top  and  is 
skimmed  off,  and  this  operation  is  kept  up  until  the  liquor  be- 
comes clear.  It  is  then  taken  to  the  third  pan  for  further  boiling 
and  finally  concentrated  in  the  second.  In  many  instances  puri- 
fication is  limited  to  skimming,  but  sometimes  this  is  supple- 


334  HISTORICAL 

mented  by  adding  milk  of  lime  or  crude  soda  ash  to  the  liquor. 
The  scum  is  set  aside  to  be  fed  to  cattle  or  very  poor  people. 

When  the  yellowish-brown  mass  is  boiled  to  a  certain  den- 
sity it  is  constantly  kept  in  motion  by  stirring  and  its  consis- 
tency is  tested  at  frequent  intervals.  As  soon  as  it  is  found  that 
it  can  be  rolled  into  a  ball  that  upon  cooling  will  remain  fairly 
soft,  it  is  considered  sufficiently  cooked  and  the  boiling  opera- 
tion comes  to  an  end.  Sometimes  the  hot  gur  is  put  into  earthen 
moulds  to  cool  and  harden,  sometimes  it  is  worked  with  batons 
in  an  earthen  vessel  and  after  cooling  is  made  into  balls  by 
hand,  or  flattened  out  and  cut  into  triangles.  The  balls  and  tri- 
angles are  placed  in  baskets  to  dry,  after  which  they  are  sup- 
posed to  be  ready  for  consumption.  Gur  that  is  soft  and  of  good 
grain  lends  itself  admirably  to  the  process  of  refining.  Gur  that 
has  become  solid  and  hard  has  to  be  eaten  without  further 
treatment  and  burnt  gur  is  totally  unfit  for  refining. 

Rab  is  made  in  nearly  the  same  manner,  but  with  more  at- 
tention paid  to  cleanliness.  There  are  five  iron  pans,  which  are 
thoroughly  cleansed  daily;  the  skimming  and  clarifying  opera- 
tions are  conducted  with  more  care  and  the  clear  juice  is  fil- 
tered through  cloth  before  being  concentrated.  When  the  mass 
of  crystals  and  liquor  is  found  to  be  of  the  proper  consistency, 
it  is  poured  into  earthen  pots  to  cool  and  well  stirred  to  help 
crystallization.  This  process  being  finally  complete,  the  moist 
and  somewhat  soft  sugar  can  only  be  removed  by  breaking  the 
pots  containing  it.  Owing  to  its  almost  liquid  condition,  rab 
cannot  conveniently  be  transported  any  distance,  so  that  it  is 
generally  used  near  the  place  where  it  is  made,  chiefly  for  re- 
fining purposes.  Gur,  on  the  other  hand,  being  harder,  can 
readily  be  carried  any  distance. 

Men  are  sometimes  set  to  work  tramping  upon  sacks  filled 
with  rab,  in  order  to  separate  the  syrup  from  the  sugar;  again 
sacks  of  rab  are  piled  upon  a  floor  with  holes  for  drainage  and 


..-.f,.s  .-        v-   •       % 

' 


lililf'' 

I  p 

m  r 


INDIA  335 

a  well  for  the  syrup  that  runs  off.  Weights  are  often  placed 
upon  the  bags  in  order  to  hasten  the  process.  After  the  drain- 
age is  fairly  complete,  the  rab  is  dumped  into  vessels  having 
openings  at  the  bottom  and  covered  at  the  top  by  a  layer  of 
wet  water  plants.  The  water  as  it  passes  through  the  mass  of 
sugar  washes  the  syrup  from  the  crystals  and  the  liquor  runs 
off  through  the  apertures  in  the  bottom.  Several  days  after- 
ward the  operation  is  repeated,  and  so  on  until  all  the  syrup 
has  been  removed  by  washing.  The  resulting  sugar  is  either 
used  in  that  form,  or  dried  in  the  sun  and  worked  by  human  feet 
in  order  to  lighten  its  color. 

Saiyid  Muhammad  Hadi,  assistant  director  of  the  Land 
Records  and  Agriculture  at  Allahabad,  has  worked  out  an  im- 
proved method  for  making  rab  which  is  now  widely  adopted. 
Under  his  plan  the  furnace  heat  can  be  readily  controlled,  so 
that  the  danger  of  burning  the  juices  during  boiling  is  con- 
siderably lessened;  neither  is  there  so  much  risk  of  decompo- 
sition (souring).  Besides,  the  cooled  rab  is  purged  of  its  syrup 
in  a  centrifugal  machine  worked  by  hand  instead  of  by  drain- 
age from  wet  vegetation.  At  best,  however,  the  production  of 
sugar  by  the  natives  of  Hindustan  is  still  at  a  very  elementary 
stage,  and  in  that  country  new  ideas  gain  ground  very  slowly, 
so  that  it  will  be  some  time  before  modern  machinery  and 
equipment  are  generally  in  use. 

It  would  seem  that  in  view  of  the  small  production  of  sugar 
per  acre  and  the  enormous  losses  in  manufacture,  a  modern 
plant,  with  machinery  of  the  latest  and  best  type  and  large 
financial  resources,  should  be  remarkably  successful,  but  such 
is  not  the  case.  It  appears  to  be  impossible  to  get  a  steady  sup- 
ply of  cane.  In  India,  plantations  like  those  found  in  other 
countries  do  not  exist.  Instead,  there  are  a  great  number  of  ex- 
tremely small  pieces  of  land  all  under  different  ownership.  The 
cane  has  to  be  brought  to  the  mill  from  considerable  distances 


336  HISTORICAL 

in  small  quantities,  and  owin£  to  lack  of  intelligence  or  initia- 
tive on  the  part  of  the  farmer  it  is  of  indifferent  quality.  Trans- 
portation facilities  are  far  from  good  and  the  manufacturers 
have  to  make  up  the  shortage  in  the  supply  of  cane  by  using 
rab  and  gur.  If  the  latter  should  contain  an  excessive  amount 
of  glucose  or  be  caramelized,  it  does  not  lose  its  value  as  an 
article  for  direct  consumption;  on  the  other  hand,  either  of 
these  conditions  unfit  it  for  the  purposes  of  refining,  and  as 
there  is  but  a  slight  difference  in  price  between  gur  and  the 
white  sugar  into  which  it  is  made,  the  disadvantage  to  the  re- 
finer is  readily  apparent.  Another  drawback  is  that  the  Hindus 
do  not  take  kindly  to  sugar  manufactured  by  the  European 
process,  consequently  chini,  or  sugar  made  from  rab  by  the 
native  method,  commands  a  better  price  than  sugar  made  in  a 
modern  refinery.  Religious  and  caste  prejudices  exert  a  strong 
influence  also.  In  modern  sugar  refining,  animal  charcoal  is  the 
principal  purifying  and  decolorizing  agent,  and  this,  together 
with  the  fact  that  ox-blood  has  been  used  for  clarification, 
causes  the  Hindus  to  reject  sugar  prepared  by  such  means.  Fi- 
nally, there  is  the  apprehension  on  the  part  of  the  high-caste 
natives  that  the  sugar  may  have  been  produced  by  low-caste 
labor  and  that  to  eat  it  would  bring  defilement. 

The  refiners  of  India  have  begun  to  recognize  the  advantage 
to  them  in  using  raw  European  beet-root  sugars  and  raw  cane 
from  Java  and  Mauritius  instead  of  the  more  costly  prepara- 
tions of  rab  and  gur.  As  a  result,  there  is  a  considerable  quan- 
tity of  foreign  sugar  imported  into  India  which  is  consumed 
ultimately  by  the  high-caste  native  without  his  being  aware  of 
its  origin. 

The  imports  during  the  period  from  1908  to  1916  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

1908-09        535,664  tons  of  2240  Ibs. 

1909-10        556,840    "      "      "      " 


INDIA  337 

1910-1 1  608,785  tons  of  2240  Ibs. 

1911-12  508,591    "      "      "      " 

1912-13  675,017    «      "      "      « 

1913-14  802,978    "      "      "      " 

1914-15  428,595    "      "      "      " 

1915-16  515,909 

Of  this  tonnage,  Austria  supplied  the  greater  amount  of  the 
beet,  Germany  the  remainder,  while  the  cane  came  from  Java 
and  Mauritius.  In  1913  and  1914  the  raw  beet  from  Austria  and 
Germany  was  almost  entirely  displaced  by  washed  Java  raws, 
the  trade  name  for  which  is  "Java  white."  Some  sugar  is  ex- 
ported, but  the  quantity  is  insignificant. 

As  to  the  future  of  the  industry  in  India,  the  theory  is  held 
by  many  that  with  modern  scientific  methods  governing  culti- 
vation and  manufacture,  that  country  would  be  able  not  only 
to  provide  for  its  own  requirements,  but  would  be  a  competitor 
for  export  trade  in  the  markets  of  the  world.  If  such  a  condition 
is  to  be  brought  about,  it  will  not  be  by  improvement  in  the 
cane  fields  and  the  manufacturing  plants  alone.  There  are  other 
problems  to  be  overcome  before  there  can  be  any  great  change 
for  the  better, — the  stubborn  opposition  of  the  natives  to  inno- 
vations, the  extreme  smallness  of  individual  holdings,  poverty, 
lack  of  initiative  and  co-operation, — these  are  the  main  ob- 
stacles in  the  way  of  a  material  increase  in  the  present  enor- 
mous production,  and  they  will  not  be  easily  surmounted. 


CONCLUSION 

THE  sugar  crops  of  the  world  for  the  year  1915-16  aggre- 
gated 16,558,863  long  tons,  of  which  10,571,079  tons 
were  cane.  The  following  table  shows  the  production  of 
the  various  countries : 

NORTH  AMERICA 

United  States  TONS 

Hawaii  545,ooo 

Louisiana  122,768 

Texas  1,000 

Porto  Rico  400,000 

Cuba  3,000,000 

British  West  Indies 

Trinidad  55,ooo 

Barbados  50,000 

Jamaica  15,000 

Other  British  West  Indies  30,000 

French  West  Indies 

Martinique  40,000 

Guadeloupe  40,000 

Danish  West  Indies 

St.  Croix  11,000 

Santo  Domingo  120,000 

Mexico  75,ooo 

Central  America  30,000 

SOUTH  AMERICA 

British  Guiana  110,000 

Surinam  13,000 


CONCLUSION 

Venezuela 

Peru 

Argentina 

Brazil 

TOTAL  IN  AMERICA 

ASIA 

British  India 
Java 
Formosa 

Philippine  islands 
TOTAL  IN  ASIA 

AUSTRALIA  AND  POLYNESIA 

Queensland  ^ 

New  South  Wales   / 

Fiji 

TOTAL  IN  AUSTRALIA  AND  POLYNESIA 


AFRICA 


Egypt 

Mauritius 

Reunion 

Natal 

Mozambique 

TOTAL  IN  AFRICA 

Spain 

TOTAL  CANE  SUGAR 


EUROPE 


BEET  SUGAR 


Europe 

United  States 

Canada 

TOTAL  BEET  SUGAR 

GRAND  TOTAL  CANE  AND  BEET  SUGAR 


TONS 
IO,OOO 

200,000 

155,000 

I94,OOO 

5,216,768 

2,636,875 
1,264,000 

391,549 

3OO,OOO 

4,592,424 


150,000 

90,000 
24O,OOO 


110,000 

215,528 

40,000 

100,000 

50,000 

515,528 

6,359 
10,571,079 

5,190,387 

779,756 

17,641 

5,987,784 

16,558,863 


339 


340  CONCLUSION 

From  the  time  when  the  soldiers  of  Alexander  of  Macedon 
found  sugar  cane  in  India,  over  three  hundred  years  before  the 
Christian  era,  knowledge  of  sugar  and  its  cultivation  has  ac- 
companied great  political  movements. 

In  the  sweep  of  the  Saracen  conquest  from  Persia  to  Egypt 
and  on  through  northern  Africa  into  Spain,  sugar  followed 
the  footsteps  of  the  invading  armies.  The  Crusaders  brought  it 
with  them  when  they  returned  home  from  Palestine.  Daring 
Portuguese  adventurers  carried  it  to  the  Madeiras,  the  Azores, 
the  Cape  Verde  and  other  islands  of  the  east  Atlantic  ocean 
when  they  captured  and  colonized  them  in  the  fifteenth  century. 
The  New  world  received  sugar  cane  at  the  hands  of  Christopher 
Columbus,  who  planted  it  in  Santo  Domingo  in  1493.  Shortly 
after  Pizarro's  first  landing  it  was  brought  to  Peru  by  the 
Spanish  conquerors.  Cortes  himself  introduced  it  in  Mexico, 
erecting  the  first  mill  there  in  1520;  and  when,  during  the 
struggle  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  sugar  was  ex- 
cluded from  Europe  by  the  blockading  British  fleet,  it  was  Na- 
poleon Bonaparte  who  called  beet-sugar  manufacture  into 
being. 

Before  the  outbreak  of  the  great  war  in  1914,  the  world's 
crops  of  sugar  were  pretty  evenly  divided  between  cane  and 
beet,  with  a  preponderance  in  favor  of  the  former.  How  this 
titanic  conflict  has  affected  the  European  production  is  clearly 
seen  by  the  returns  for  1915-16.  During  that  season  the  world's 
output  was  16,558,863  long  tons,  made  up  of  10,571,079  tons  of 
cane  and  5,987,784  tons  of  beet,  and  Europe  was  short  2,392,828 
tons  as  compared  with  the  previous  year.  The  conclusion  is  in- 
evitable that  after  the  war  shall  be  brought  to  an  end  a  period 
of  poverty  and  distress  will  ensue  and  restriction  of  sugar  con- 
sumption in  Europe  will  be  one  of  the  results  of  this  condition. 

Apart  from  countries  where  sugar  production  is  fostered  by 
protecting  tariffs,  it  seems  certain  that  future  development  and 


CONCLUSION 

progress  will  take  place  in  lands  where  favorable  climate,  rich 
soil  and  adequate,  cheap  labor  are  found  together.  The  natural 
economic  law  will  cause  the  industry  to  thrive  best  where  such 
conditions  obtain  in  the  fullest  degree,  and  to  fall  off  corre- 
spondingly as  they  diminish. 


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